The Green Thunder
by Fyras14
Summary: Luigi's dreams had been haunting him for days. He dreamed of darkness, thunder, and his brother unconscious near his feet, with the green clad hero grinning as the thunder struck.
1. Nightmares, Thunder, and the Hero in Red

Lonelywerewolf14: Here I am again...starting a new story, this time with my old time favorite character of the Mario series, Luigi! This stories will most likely have spoilers for Super Paper Mario(but since I havent played the game, my information might be a bit off, but well, I got spoiled the best I could).

This story takes place after the events of that game, so anything that happened after that will be ignored in my story, if anything did happen at all. Well, enough with all the ranting, please read and review, or criticize, whichever comes first.

And before I forget:

_**Bold italic text indicate flashbacks, or dreams in the case of that last part of the chapter. **_

_Italic text indicate thoughts._

**Bold text can indicate signs that appear on the story or how a certain character speaks. **

Well, that's about it, and this last part: **Mario or any other related characters don't belong to me. **

EDIT(5/24/09): Fixed some errors added some things.

* * *

"_They say dreams are the windows of the soul—take a peek and you can see the inner workings, the nuts and bolts."_

**-Henry Bromel, **_Northen Exposure, The Big Kiss, 1991_

**Chapter 1: Nightmares, Thunder, and the Hero in Red**

Luigi woke up with a start; eyes blinking rapidly, sweat all over his face, hands and feet quickly became uncovered as the blankets felt to the ground, body shaking uncontrollably, his mouth, midway opened, as if wanting to release a scream that had been stuck on his throat. The young plumber took a look around, and after a few minutes, let a sigh escape his lips. Everything was as it should be…he was in his small bedroom, on top of his bed, the window with the moon and stars overlooking the room. Luigi gave a small nervous laugh. It was all just a dream, that had could pass out more like a nightmare. He sat up in his bed, and looked back at the window, noticing it was still very dark; he groaned.

Two weeks had passed since this nightmares had began to plague his mind. Two weeks without sleep for the poor plumber clad in green.

Luigi got up from bed, knowing already that the sleep had been taken away by that nightmare, and went straight towards his closet. He opened it, and got out his formal green shirt and blue overalls—might as well get ready if he wasn't going back to sleep. Once he was done putting his clothes on, he looked back at the clock that lay undisturbed on a table near his bed, Luigi slapped his hand over his forehead. He knew it, 3 A.M., he once again was stuck guarding the house like a watchdog, hearing the constant snoring and Mama Mia's, from Mario's room. Luigi shrugged, taking his green cap that lay nearby, and smiled sadly.

"This is going to be another of those days…" he muttered to no one in particular, as he made his way out the door, forgetting his nightmare and that it was way past his waking time.

* * *

Mario looked back at his younger brother as he prepared breakfast, usually preparing breakfast was the norm for the younger brother to do, but now, as the green clad plumber looked back at the shorter man, who had recently stepped out of the shower, already in that formal clothes—red and blue for him—with that red cap resting on his very head. The green plumber spotted a troubled look upon his face, and he knew right away that something was wrong with him. "Something wrong, Mario?" he asked. Mario sighed, crossing both arms over his chest.

"I just got a call from Pepe's shop…" Luigi turned back to his egg, and moved it a little with the spatula.

Luigi recalled Pepe, the nice Toad that gave them discounts when doing jobs for the other citizens of the town, by giving them half the price for pipes, ropes, or just anything that involved fixing the bathrooms to replacing water pipes.

"And?" the younger brother asked, arguing the other to continue. The egg was turned rapidly by the spatula, before Mario spoke again.

"You know those pipes that we were going to use for the job on Toadstart's home?" Luigi grabbed a nearby plate, and with the spatula, picked up the cooked egg from the pan and put it neatly on the plate, which he placed nearby.

"Yeah...I do. Why? Pepe doesn't have enough for the job?" the younger brother asked the older one. Mario shook his head.

"Well, they're gone…stolen, actually." Luigi's hand froze over the egg that he was about to grab and turned to look back at his brother, eyes wide with surprise.

"Stolen?"

"And not only those pipes, but half the shop is gone, too…" Mario removed his cap with one hand, and scratched the back of his head with another.

"This is bad…that's the sixth shop this week," Mario nodded at his brother, who grabbed the egg and cracked it, already letting its contents fall on the pan.

"Whoever is doing it is either doing a bad joke or he just wants to make an extra gold coin for his pocket…" Mario muttered as he went towards the nearby kitchen table, grabbing a toasted piece of bread that, no doubt, Luigi had made earlier. "The princess doesn't know what to do anymore…" Luigi nodded, with his back turned.

Over a couple of days ago, a one or two thieves had decided to go around stealing pipes, mushrooms, or wood. Since the thieveries had taken place, Peach had been taking all the complaints of those affected, and was at one point, forced to ask Mario and Luigi to guard the stores, which they had done, but no thief was ever caught in the act of doing their business nearby. Both brothers were thanked and left for home, and then, the goods were stolen once more.

Luigi just sighed as he looked back at his cooking.

Another egg done, he made his way towards the table, holding a plate on each hand, with an egg each. He gave one to Mario, and he settle his own nearby on the other side. He sat down. As he glanced back at his older brother as he ate, Luigi wondered if he should tell him of his nightmares…but then, even if he told Mario about it, it wouldn't help him. He turned to look back at the plate with the egg and bread, and noticed that he had lost his appetite.

_**

* * *

He could hear the thunder roaring in the distance, his face partly covered by a strange mask, a cape following behind him. At his feet was a defenseles**__**s and unconscious man in red, behind him, a huge turtle like monster, and next to him a young princess dressed in yellow. He heard the thunder roar again, as he made his way towards the fallen man. The strange masked man grinned, and looked down. "The Green Thunder hardly has time to forgive his enemies, and now, you are dead….Mario, my dear brother…" The man raised a hand over the unconscious man and waited, soon, the masked man's hand began to glow, and then, he raised it up in the sky. Mario opened one eye and looked back at the masked man before him. **_

"_**L-luigi…" he began, weakly. "…wh-why?" **_

"_**Because I can…" And then, everything turned black. **_


	2. A Dream, A Scream, and a Thief

Lonelywerewolf: Here is chapter two...didnt think i would be putting it up, today...took me like half an hour to get logged in to the website...anyway, hope you read and review...I won't probably post in a while, at least until i finish a story i have put on hold.

R&R or criticize, whichever comes first.

**Mario and any related characters dont belong to me.**

**EDIT(5/24/09) Fixed some errors, added some things.  
**

* * *

"_They say that blood is thicker than water. Maybe that's why we battle our own with more energy and gusto than we would ever expend on strangers."_

**-David Assael, **_Northern Exposure, Family Feud, 1993._

**Chapter 2: A Dream, A Scream, and a thief**

"NO!!!" Luigi let out a scream, quickly sitting up in the bed. Breathing hard, he scanned his surroundings with red eyes; a bed, a closet, a window, a wooden door, a green cap. His room, his house, his world. Luigi gasped a bit, letting the air that had so freely left his lungs come back in again, allowing him to take slow and steady breaths.

"LUIGI!?" The bedroom's door was thrown open. Mario stood on the doorway, his serious eyes hiding worry. Luigi almost fell from bed, but held onto the covers, having been spooked by his older brother's sudden entrance.

"Mario?" the younger man looked back at his brother, confusion written on his features.

"What happened? I heard you screaming just now!" Mario quickly left his post on the doorway and went over to his brother, who still sat on his bed, getting a closer look upon his face. "Are you alright? You look pale…something happened?" Luigi was about to tell him about his nightmare, before he clammed up, unsure of how Mario would react. The last thing he wanted to do was go to the psychologist, telling him things that he felt uncomfortable about.

"I-I'm fine…" he told his older brother, but, even Luigi could tell that Mario wasn't buying his words, as his expression didn't change, in fact, he moved closer to his younger brother, scanning his red eyes, and watching his shaking movements.

"Fine? Luigi, you were screaming your heart out...I wouldn't be the least surprised if the neighbors heard you, too!" Luigi turned his head away, blushing. That dream had seemed so real...but, it was just that, a dream.

"It was only a dream," he told his brother, turning back to face him.

"A….dream?" Mario asked worriedly. Mario recalled that for the last two weeks Luigi was the first one up, of course, this didn't appear all that strange, but when Mario had woken up at six o'clock in the morning in the weekends, he always saw his younger brother up and running, already making breakfast and stuff. He had shrug it off as normal behavior and left it at that, but when he noticed that Luigi was at times sleeping at the job, Mario knew that his younger brother was missing sleep. And now that he saw him like this, he knew why his brother was missing sleep and that's what worried him even more.

"Yeah, I'll be fine…"

"B-" Mario suddenly stopped himself, looking back at his brother's eyes. Luigi's eyes wordlessly begged him not to continue, knowing that it was useless to talk about something that would just upset the green plumber. The oldest of the Mario Brothers finally understood that just pushing the subject would make his much more intelligent younger brother shrug this off like any other sleep problem that would present itself at any given moment of their lives. "Okay, then…good night, bro...." Mario nodded back at his brother, turning to leave. He stopped near the doorway, and whispered back, "Don't hesitate to call if you need anything...you know I'll back you up."

"Thanks, Mario..." Luigi whispered back, and watched his brother leave.

As soon as the door closed behind Mario, Luigi pulled away the covers, got up from bed. He tiptoed towards the door, leaning an ear against it. The green plumber could hear his brother's footsteps, sounding farther and farther away. When the steps finally died, Luigi sighed, knowing that another sleepless night will be greeting him.

* * *

Mario walked slowly towards the huge brick castle that lay before him, ignoring the small park that decorated most of this castle's surroundings, not counting the small lake that surrounded it. He walked across the bridge, nodding at some Toads that walked by, most which he recognized as the many servants that served the Princess of Mushroom Kingdom, Peach. The hero finally managed to reach the front door, which was opened by the guards, who saluted at him, as he stepped inside the castle.

"Mario!!" He had only taken one step inside the grand castle, when a voice made the hero turn around and stop walking. Princess Peach, wearing that pink gown, and that yellow crown that was decorated by a mere three jewels, accompanied by her round blue earrings, waved her gloved hand towards him. He noticed a second gloved hand waving back at him, this one belonging to a young lady in a yellow gown, mirroring Peach's but with less 'details' as Mario liked call it, she also wore a crown, with a pair of flower themed earrings. Her long brown hair, unlike Peach's own which was tied in a ponytail, was loose with her bangs covering most of her forehead.

Daisy was a recurring visitor to the Mushroom Castle, and right now, Mario guessed that it was one of those visits with tea and cookies, and talk; talk that mostly bored the flower princess, but not like she was going to say no to her best friend, even if some of the topics that they talked about bored her to death.

Mario waved his hand towards the duo of princesses, and walked over towards them, grinning. "Good day, princesses," he addressed them, bowing a bit. Peach and Daisy returned the greeting, although Peach was the most courteous of the two, like always.

"How do you do, Mario?" Peach asked him, Mario shrugged.

"Alright, in a way, except that me and Luigi are out of the job, having no equipment to work and all." Peach frowned, a little.

"Unless that thief is caught, you guys will be without a job for quite some time..." Daisy raised an eyebrow, and looked from one friend to the other.

"A thief?" Both the plumber and princess turned to face her, but then realized that Daisy had last visited the castle a month ago, long before the thieveries started.

"Yes," Peach told her. "someone has been stealing some pipes, wires, and some logs…it has been a real problem, and well, no one can seem to catch him." Daisy crossed both arms across her chest, and looked back at Mario.

"So, from what I have heard, I'm assuming you haven't caught him, eh?" Mario sighed, admitting defeat. "That's a first," Daisy joshed. Mario gave the Sarasaland princess a mocking glare.

"Funny," he told her. Peach covered her mouth with a delicate hand, giggling softly.

"But, anyway," the toadstool princess said, her fit of giggles over. "I do wonder why anyone would want those many pipes…" Mario and Daisy shrugged in unison.

"It really depends, princess," Mario told her after a while of thinking about it. "Maybe some sort of machine or a sewer system, in my plumber's opinion." Peach gave a shrug of her own.

"Hopefully is not something bad," The red clad plumber gave her a smile, a strange smile. Peach suddenly looked up, looking straight at the plumber, worry covering her face.

"Mario, is something wrong?" she asked him. Daisy looked at the plumber, suddenly confused by the other princess's question.

"Hmm?"

"Mario, you can't hide things from me, you know." Peach whispered to him, fixing a sympathetic gaze on him. The other princess now noticed the rather strange expression that Mario had on his face, and quickly took part in the conversation.

"Come on, hero boy, spill the beans!" She told the plumber, her eyes sparkling with curious interest.

"Well…its Luigi," Daisy blinked.

"Luigi? Is he okay?" she asked him, almost screaming, her worry evident. Peach, too, was worried, but didn't say anything, as she waited for the short man's answer.

"No, he's fine." Daisy sighed in relief, although she shot another look of worry. "Its just…well, he's been acting strange lately,"

"Strange?" the two princesses asked.

"Yeah…he seems to have bad dreams, nightmares most likely, and always looks a bit sleepy and doesn't eat much…"

"He isn't sick, is he?" Daisy asked him. Mario shrugged.

"He didn't look sick to me, just a bit concerned, as if worried about something, or someone."

"Have you been talking to him?" Peach suddenly asked him.

"Yeah, but he doesn't want to talk about it. I tried yesterday, and last night, too, but he still said that he was fine. Although, knowing Luigi, he most likely would tell me about his problem when he feels most comfortable about it…if he ever feels comfortable."

"You should talk to him anyways," Daisy told him. Although one part of her was worried about the green plumber, as she wondered how that shy man was doing, and hoped that he was alright.

* * *

_**The dark room could stretch for miles and miles, and Luigi didn't know if he was leaving it or just entering. Light would sometimes blind his vision, but still, he kept on walking, trying to find the exit and go back home. "Hohohoho!!" Luigi froze. Someone was here, and whoever it was, was very close. "Hohohoho, how you do?" The green clad plumber, blinked and then gasped. **_

_**Standing in front of him was himself or rather, someone that looked just like him. Luigi was staring at Luigi. This other Luigi dressed the same, albeit in more lighter colors, that same face, with a cheerful smile and closed eyes. "Hohohoho!" That other Luigi called, waving a hand in front of Luigi's face. **_

"_**Wh-who are you?" Luigi asked this other in a shaking voice. The other Luigi opened his eyes, and laughed. **_

"_**Why? I'm you! That other self, the one that hides in this darkness!" The other Luigi replied, merrily.  
**_

"_**Hiding in the darkness?" **_

"_**Yes. Here I am, your true self, hiding in the shadows of the darkness. I'm the you that doesn't cry, the you who doesn't pale at the sight of a foe, the you that doesn't stand in the sidelines, the you that is not forgotten!!" **_

"_**The me?" Luigi asked his other him, looking both scared and confused. That other Luigi laughed again, and turned his back on the scared man. **_

"_**I'm the you, who is the Green Thunder…who doesn't cry, who doesn't faint, who doesn't stand in the sidelines, and who is not forgotten." This Luigi turned to face him, his attire had changed drastically. That plumber's suit was long gone, replaced by a black jumpsuit that mimicked his old plumber's closed. He wore a green bandanna across his neck, and a small black mask covered his eyes, that seemed to glow with some golden light. His cape still stood in place, colored of a darker green than the one he had worn before. "Wake up, Luigi…let the thunder show you the way…." And with those last words, the Green Thunder disappeared. **_

Luigi's eyes snapped opened. Confused of what he had suddenly seen, he looked around. He was no longer in bed, rather he was close to a nearby forest, the moon acting as the sun. The green plumber then, gasped...as he stared back at the huge mountain of pipes, logs, and wires that stood before him, with him carrying a bag on his back. Realization hit him like a bullet, as he let the bag fall, some pipes and logs falling from inside it.

The Green Thunder had returned...and he was not leaving any time soon.


	3. The Flower Princess

Here is the third chapter...this one has no dream sequence, but it does have a Daisy/Luigi part in it, also old enemies from the Mario games make their appearance...plus a new one at the end, at least I think it is a new one.

Spiritlight25: Maybe this chapter can answer your question. Dont desist to tell me if any more problems rise, with the story, I'll listen(or read as the case may be).

Please Read and Review, or criticize, whichever comes first.

**Mario and all related characters dont belong to me.**

EDIT(5/24/09): Fixed some errors, and added some things.

* * *

"_The meeting __of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed."_

**-Carl Jung (1875-1961)**

**Chapter 3: The Flower Princess, the Green Plumber, and the Enigmatic Mr. L**

Daisy almost took off running after her evening meal with Peach, her concern for Luigi clouding most of her senses. The flower princess was quick to excuse herself from Peach's home in order to see the shy plumber as fast as she could. Peach seemed to understand her friend's worry and didn't even ask on why she was leaving so soon; she seemed to be just as worried as Daisy was of Luigi.

Mario's words from earlier that day still haunted the princess's mind, and made her slow her pace as she recalled them: _**"Yeah…he seems to have bad dreams, nightmares most likely, and always looks a bit sleepy and doesn't eat much…"**_ It made Daisy flinch just thinking about how Luigi might look right now, hungry, sleepy, and scared to death of falling asleep. She felt that she understood Luigi more than his older brother, or Peach ever did, at least she hoped she did. Daisy had faced nightmares more than once throughout her lifetime, especially when that evil alien Tatanga had taken over her home and made the young princess prisoner.

The Sarasaland princess had endured many sleepless nights while that damn Tatanga was in charge, afraid to go to sleep because of the nightmares that haunted her dreams and memory during her imprisonment. Daisy had been damn lucky she had quickly gotten over that experience, and felt even better when Mario had saved her. Luigi, though, hadn't been kidnapped by any alien recently as far as she was concerned, sure, there had been some sort of accident a couple of months ago, but neither the green hero, nor Peach, and even Mario, who would have gladly told her about his adventure if she had asked, bothered to give her the exact details of their little adventure. Luigi had told her that he really wanted to forget what had happened months prior, and when Daisy had pressed on the subject, he decided to skip it altogether. The Sarasaland princess never asked him about it again.

As she made her way towards the plumbers' home, her hand traveled towards the small bag she carried with her, already feeling a smaller bag inside of it. Daisy blushed as she remembered the small bag of cookies Peach had given to her before she left. For herself and Luigi, Peach had told her childhood friend. Daisy felt silly of recalling the other princess's words, and then blushed. Would Luigi find it weird that she was going to give him cookies? No. Luigi would never do that, he would smile and take them, and even share if she was willing to stay and chat. She smiled a bit as she made her way towards the plumbers' home, already thinking of how her day will end…she at Luigi's house…both talking…and—

"OUCH!!" Daisy was thrown to the ground so suddenly, she barely managed to save her face(but not her dress, unfortunately), from hitting the ground. "HEY!! What's the big idea!?" the princess cried angrily, as she glared back at her attacker.

"So-sorry, Daisy!!" called a meek voice. The flower princess blinked at her attacker, and gasped in surprise. There stood Luigi, shaking all over, fear clouding his eyes.

"Luigi!"

"Here, D-daisy…l-le-let me help you…." Luigi extended his hand, which Daisy took and got up, with him pulling her. She felt her cheeks get warm all of the sudden, but they returned to normal once the green plumber let go of her hand.

"Sorry," she apologized, earning a confused look from Luigi. "about yelling at you. I didn't mean it…" Luigi gave her a warm smile, his shaking had ceased, if just a little.

"N-no problem, princess," Daisy had to fight the argue to roll her eyes. Did he sincerly had to be so formal when talking to one of his friends? "…I wou-would have done the s-same if some-someone bumped in-into me…like th-that…" Daisy raised an eyebrow, something was definitely odd with the green plumber today, his speech was that same shy sound, but there was something about his change of speech that bothered her, but she just couldn't put her finger on it. Luigi noticed that she was looking at him attentavily, and blushed, before he spoke again. "Y-yes?" he asked her, causing Daisy to frown a bit.

"Is something wrong, Luigi?" she calmly asked him. The green plumber went silent for a moment, his shaking stopping immediately. He then looked around, as if expecting someone to come. He then sighed and noticed no one was coming.

"Da-daisy…can you keep a secret?" Daisy suddenly blinked. Well, she certainly wasn't expecting this.

"A secret?" Luigi nodded, his eyes look back at her, telling her to 'Please listen and don't tell!'. When Daisy thought about it, this was probably what was bothering Luigi to begin with, and then, she nodded. "Yeah, I'm in. So, what is it?" Luigi wasted no time and grabbed her hand, dragging her along for the ride. They passed some shops and Toads, all looking curiously at the two, but they were quickly ignored as the Toads went back to their own business, not really caring where the two would end up. "Hmm…Luigi?" Daisy asked her companion, unable to hide a blush as he dragged her across the small market place, and finally out of the small town altogether. "Where are we going?" Luigi only looked behind her noticing they were finally away from any noisy Toad that decided to spy on their conversation.

"Do you know about the thief that everyone's been talking about?" he asked her. A strange topic, not really something she was expecting, but the princess said nothing as she shrugged; they had started to walk again, following a small path that was leading to some trees and bushes.

"A bit…from what Peach and Mario told me, though…why you ask?"

"I think I just might have found him…"

"Really!?" Daisy cried in an excitly but then, noticing the man's worried gaze she asked, "But…why do you want me to keep this a secret? I mean, this guy has been causing trouble…and by trouble I mean a lot of it. Why do you want to keep this a secret?" Luigi walked towards a pair of bushes and looked back at her, mentioning her to come closer.

"Because…" he began as he moved the bushes out of the way so Daisy could see what was behind them. Pipes, lay on top of each other. Next to them, logs and wires, all scattered around the area like some sort of children's toys. Daisy gasped at the sight, and looked back at Luigi. "…I think the thief is…me…"

Okay…now that, she wasn't expecting.

* * *

Bowser really loved his children; Ludwig von Koopa knew that but still, he couldn't shake the feelings of anger towards his father. He looked back as the koopa that raised him and the other Koopalings, who was laughing with what seemed to be a miniature version of himself. He was youngest of the Koopalings, known as Bowser Jr. or Junior as the other koopas and even some underlings called him. Ludwig felt a ting of jealously as he watched them talk from his position in the table, his brothers and sister, barely paying attention to the oldest of the Koopalings as he watched father and son laugh so hard. It truly made his blood boil. Ludwig didn't know why his second-in-command status were removed, hardly, he didn't even know who they were being given to. The youngest of his brothers had received all the attention Bowser could give him, and still that wasn't enough…he wanted a small part of his leadership as well…oh, Ludwig hated him so much.

Junior, just like his older siblings, had previously failed to capture their 'Mama', Princess Peach. Unlike Ludwig and his other siblings, who had been thrown to castle duty after their failed attempt to kidnap Mama Peach, Junior had not even taken up guard duty like the other Koopalings, in fact, he and his father had taken their time in Isle Delfino, and they both had spend a good time, according to Bowser. That made Ludwig feel jealously, for the first time in years….he had never felt jealous of his other siblings, not even when their father paid more attention to them than to him. None of his brothers, not even his sister, seem to really care much…the less they saw of Mario, the better.

Ludwig couldn't tear his eyes away from the happy family picture not too far away from him; both father and son were laughing, talking about their next attempt to take over the Mushroom Kingdom…then…something in his head clicked….he didn't need anyone's approval to do what he wanted, much less to cause an expression to his father.

Ludwig von Koopa excused himself from the table and left his siblings, and father…already planning his first villainy.

* * *

Daisy looked back at Luigi shocked of what he had just told her, and then, at the mountain of things that lay before her. She gulped, and then looked back at the green plumber, her eyes hiding worry and curiosity. "D-did…you really steal all this, Luigi?"

"I…I…really don't know…"

"You don't know? Then, why are you saying you're the thief if you don't know?"

"Well…when I woke up, this afternoon, I was standing right in front of this things…" he explained, pointing to the pipes, wires and logs. "and I was carrying a bag, too, with pipes and some other things that I don't remember ever having…" Daisy put a hand on her chin, thinking about what he just said. Luigi couldn't be lying…much less stealing, so this could only mean…

"So…you remember being asleep, but nothing after that?" Luigi nodded. "Hmm…perhaps, you were sleepwalking?" Daisy suggested. The plumber blinked, unsure of what to say.

"…sleepwalking?"

"Yep!"

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, from what you just told me…I kinda had that same problem once, too, you know…so I kinda know what it feels…" Daisy told him, smiling. "Perhaps its all your nightmares that are causing all your sleepwalking…"

"Nightmares?" Luigi asked, confused and shocked at the same time. How could she have known?

"Mario told me and Peach," she explained, looking back at the many pipes, logs, and wires. "you should really talk to your brother, you know, before this gets out of hand…" She pointed to the mountain of pipes before them.

"I…I don't know…Daisy," Luigi told him, staring at the ground. "what if he thinks…I'm a thief or something?" The princess patted his shoulder, smiling.

"No he wouldn't, not a chance…besides, you really didn't mean to do it," Luigi look up to face her. "…well, at least not in the conscious level. I'm sure he'll understand your problem and help you fix it. In fact, I might probably give a hand along with Peach!"

"You think so?" he asked her, shyly with a new source of confidence in his voice.

"Course I do!! Come on," she hooked her arm with Luigi's own, making the green plumber blush. "we'll go talk to Mario, you and me!!" Luigi stared back at her for a couple of minutes, and then, smiled.

"D-daisy…I…thank you…" She gave him a big grin.

"Don't mention it…now, let's go!!" Daisy dragged Luigi away from his bounty, not bothering to look back. As they both made their way towards the market, a strange noise got their attention.

"Huh?" Both plumber and princess looked around. Nothing out of the ordinary, except a strange plant looking back at them…wait! "A piranha plant!?"

"**GRAWR!! GRABBLE!! GRAWR!!" **A huge red vine piranha plant made its way towards the couple, dragging itself quickly with the vines it used as feet. Its large green head moving closer to them, showing yellow pointy teeth.

"RUN!!!" Luigi pushed Daisy ahead of him, as both made their way as fast as they could away from the piranha plant.

"**GRAWR!! GRAWRR!!" **Another red vine piranha plant blocked their way to town, fixing both Luigi and Daisy with another pointy set of yellow teeth.

"Not this way!!" Daisy cried. Luigi and Daisy made their way as far away as both the piranha plants. Luigi couldn't move, he felt useless. No one was coming, no matter how hard they screamed no one was going to defend him. He was the one that cried, the one that fainted, the one that stood on the sidelines, and the one who was forgotten…he couldn't. "LUIGI!!" The sudden shriek shook him out of his thoughts, he looked up, to see Daisy floating in the air, with a red vine tied around her waist, her hands were also held firmly with that same vine that maintained her in the air.

"DAISY!!" Luigi cried, running towards the piranha plant that held her hostage. Before he could reach it, however, the other piranha plant that he had forgotten behind him, threw a vine his way, and hit him, hard. The vine send him flying towards a tree.

"LUIGI!!" Daisy cried again, looking in horror as the plumber hit the bark of the tree. Luigi fell down, everything was black for a couple of seconds.

"**GRAWRRR!!" **The piranha plant that had attacked him, slowly moved towards him, with Daisy above, arguing him to wake up.

"Luigi!! Get up!! Get up!! Unnggh!! Kept your hands offa me you big oaf!!" The piranha plant was finally close to its target, it let out a filthy grin before it pounced. Luigi moved out of the way, and quickly got up. He sent a careless kick straight to those yellow teeth, which knocked most of its teeth out. Luigi turned to face his enemy, no longer with a shy exterior, but with incredible pleasure of what he had just done.

"No one touches Mr. L, and gets away from a beating!! I'll hammer you to the ground!!" Then, he pounced on the red vine piranha plant once more.


	4. Victims of Circumstances

Fyras14: Finally! Chapter four is done! It took quite a while to finish...at least fourteen pages if I remember correctly.

This is my early Christmas present to everyone that has been reading my story so far, hopefully this chapter is long enough(took me like two hours to finish it!) I hope you like it.

Please Read and Review!!

**EDIT (6/1-2/09): Fixed some errors, and added a few things...okay, everyone is going to wonder why in the world I'm correcting this story, as many think this story is fine as it is...well, since I lost my notes, as stated in my profile, I will be only editing this story until I can make a new set of notes for the last chapters...sorry for all of you guys having to wait for the updates...but, after July, and a few days of August, my stories(all of them no exceptions) will be on a hiatus, whether they are finished or not...I might update if College Life doesnt give me a heart attack first...but, that would be rarely...so sorry about that...anyway please do enjoy this all new improved chapters! **

**-Fyras14  
**

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"_I've grown certain that the root of all fear is that we've been forced to deny who we are."_

**Frances Moore Lappe, **_O Magazine, May 2004_

**Chapter 4: Victims of Circumstances, the Statues of Hate and Anger**

The piranha plant looked back in horror as the man in green jump on it, tackling it to the ground. Once on the ground, the green plumber quickly used the plant's vines as a rope, tying them around the now defenseless monster, who only cried out in shock and struggled to break free out of its bonds, before being kicked to the side by its attacker. "Way to go, Luigi!!" cried Daisy from above, watching in awe as the green plumber took out the piranha plant with great ease. The other plants looked at each other in horror as one of their own was kicked once again, this time harder, sending it flying back to the forest were it had come from. Soon after, the piranha plants quickly turned to ran back to their forest home.

"This is all you got!?" cried the plumber back at the vine monster that ran(or crawled) as far away as it could from the man. "What a--" Before he could continue with his snide remarks, two more piranha plants appeared from behind him, growling in anger as they crawled towards the plumber.

"LUIGI!!" Daisy cried in dismay, as she watched from her place among the clouds, as Luigi came face to face with more piranha monsters. Wanting to help her friend, the princess struggled against the vines that held her, but to no avail, as the monster was holding her tight, barely making room for her to breath. This, however, had caught the attention of the vine monster that held her, which was the last thing that Daisy wanted at the moment.

"**GRAWWRR!! GRAWWRRR!!" **cried the piranha plant below her. It roared in annoyance as she held her tighter with its vines, before it turn to face the green plumber, who was attacking its kindred. An idea suddenly popped in its head, and with a quick movement, released the flower princess, no longer wishing to hold her, but to attack the green plumber and avenge its family.

"EEEEKKKK!!" Everything moved too fast for Daisy, as she felt the wind crash against her like if many sharp rocks were being thrown at her. She managed to spot Luigi, looking horrified of what was happening at her, not really understanding for a mere second what was going on. The Sarasaland princess only let out a loud cry, as the wind came crashing harder, and she felt herself falling and falling. "LUI--" Daisy's cry was stopped short, and the air was knocked out of her lungs as she hit the bark of a nearby tree. She managed to glance a bit at Luigi, who looked shocked and concerned at the same time, before her eyes shut, the darkness overtaking her.

"NOOOO!!!" The green plumber cried as soon as Daisy had fainted, and turned his attention towards the one responsible for attacking the flower princess, and maybe even killing her. He pointed an accusing finger at the piranha plant that stood nearby, his hand already glowing neon green. "You!!" Luigi cried, his voice dripping in venom. "…Hurting a lady is beyond rude…its criminal!!" As those words left his lips, the green plumber swiftly released a green colored fireball from his hand, directing the small projectile straight towards the evil piranha plant. The plant quickly acted fast and opened its mouth, releasing a fire ball of its own. Green and red fire clashed, breaking away after a few seconds into nothing but red and green dust. The piranha plant grinned with its ugly teeth at the plumber, who only responded by grinning mischievously behind that moustache of his, back at the plant, as if the saying with that mere smile, that this fight was far from over. At first the plant was confused by the plumber's action, but then it watched as the man raised his hand again, this time to the sky. It was left numb with shock as it watched what the man's hand was doing now. The hand glowed in neon green yet again, and then, turned lighter in color. Behind him the piranha plants watched in awe as the man's hand changed color, once more, but soon, cuddled together in fear as they began to hear the thunder in the distance. "Taste this, villain!! The thunder of my heart, as it strikes your own!!" The plumber let his hand fall, and from the skies, a huge green thunder came sailing down towards the unmoving piranha plant, who had no time to escape the thunder that was about to electrify it.

"**GRAAAAAAAAAAA!!" **It cried as the green thunder hit it, making it shake uncontrollably with pain, some smoke emanating from its injured body. The two piranha plants behind the man were sweating bullets, and only looked at the man once and scurried as far away from the green plumber as they could, leaving behind their companion, that now seemed more like a barbecued piranha than a deadly predator.

Once the beasts were gone, the plumber went over to his fallen friend, who slept soundly despite her injuries and a few scratches present on her delicate body. The man scooped her in his arms, and looked down at her, sadly. "Daisy…" he whispered silently as he made his way towards the market square. "…the thunder has finally struck…and he plans on staying…" His blue eyes looked at the sky, and he smiled. "…because that's me now…the Green Thunder...Mr. L…"

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Ludwig looked at the huge hammer that sat on his desk, the koopa's hand carefully placed on his small chin. "This chain shall do the job…" he muttered, looking at a nearby chain that was connected to the hammer. "But…I won't be able to do much damage than what I intend to, at least not yet…" The koopa crossed his arms over his small chest, and stared at the hammer and chain for the longest moment. "…the Star Power will do the work for me…my enemies will fall before they know what hit them…" Ludwig couldn't help but laugh, as he went and grabbed the hammer from the table, examining it. It was a grand hammer, at least a foot taller than the koopa himself was. Many jewels encircled its handle, and on the hammer head, which was made of black skin, was a huge silver chain, the one that Ludwig had examined moments before. "With this," he began, raising the hammer with little difficulty, the chain almost missing his head by a mere few inches. "I will defeat you, Koopa King…to think that the most powerful weapon in the world is in my hands," Ludwig whispered as he watched the hammer with fascination, his work of a week finally complete. "…hehehe…that old shell won't stand a chance against me."

"Hey! Hey!! Ludwig!!" The eldest koopa froze, almost dropping the hammer in the process, as the familiar voice of his little brother filled the room. He quickly glanced towards the door, and sighed in relief when he noticed that it still remained closed. Ludwig cursed silently to himself, how careless he had been! "Hey! Ludwig, open the door, eh! Big Bro!!" cried the all familiar voice from behind the closed door. The eldest koopa quickly recovered, and he spared a small glance at the hammer, before he grinned.

"Ah! Junior, it's you," called Ludwig, setting the hammer back on the table. _Finally…the guinea pig has arrived... _"What can I do you for?"

"Papa is calling all the Koopalings to his chambers! I've haven't called the others yet since I haven't seen them, have you seen them, Ludwig?" called Junior, who was still standing behind the closed doors.

"No, I haven't," called Ludwig, using his best refined voice, despite the sour tone he hid within. "They must be wondering around the gardens, and such…don't worry though, I shall be with my father as soon as I finish with something I have been working on..."

"Okay, Ludwig!!....Umm, but what are ya doing, exactly?" Junior asked the eldest koopa, curiously, wondering what the eldest of the Koopalings had created this time around.

It was a known fact that Ludwig von Koopa was a great inventor and scientist. During his youth, the eldest of the koopalings had read books about science and the such, and soon, he became fascinated with it, creating small little things that turned to bigger things. In fact, it had been Ludwig himself that had made the Koopa Clown Car**(1)** for Bowser as a birthday gift, including many other things that had later been used for many of the Koopa King's dungeons and such. Even Junior, the youngest of Bowser's children, knew of Ludwig's great mind, and always wondered what his brother was up to.

"It's a new invention," Ludwig said simply, taking the hammer in his hands once more, the wheels on his grand brain beginning to turn, as a plan formed on his head. "Want to take a look, dear brother?"

"You sure about that?" called the younger koopa. "You always say that you don't like to be interrupted when you're building something…"

"I'm done with it, anyway, just a few tests before it's out of this filthy chambers of mine."

"Cool, then!!" The door creaked as it slowly opened, and then, Junior, the youngest of Bowser's children entered the room, a smile in his features, looking at the huge hammer that his older brother held. "Oh, wow! That's one big hammer there, Ludwig!" Ludwig nodded, his heart pounding fast, his hate growing as he watched the younger koopa look over his desk, were some papers lay. "This seems a bit…confusing," Junior told his brother, pointing to the papers that rested peacefully on the older Koopaling's desk.

"It takes a lot of time to develop something great like this, my dear little brother," Ludwig replied, nodding. _And you will soon find out why it is great…_ "you see, this hammer is not like any other ordinary hammer." He pointed at the papers in his desk. "It is capable of doing many feats that also call for broken bones," Ludwig pointed a claw towards the hammer head. "…but," the older brother gave his younger sibling a depressed sigh. "…but, I'm afraid it hasn't been tested yet, who knows if the effects I want it to do to my enemies will work at all…"

"…that sounds bad, bro, if even you can't make it work." Junior shook his head in disappointment. "It looked like a good invention, too."

"And it is…"

"You said that you needed to test it," the younger koopa told him. "Papa wants things done in an instant not ten seconds later."

"Oh, but I'll test it, alright…" Ludwig turned his back on Junior, as he patted the hammer head.

"You will? How?" Junior asked him, only to look in shock a second later as the hammer head made its way towards his face.

**BAAAAMMMM!!! **Junior was sent flying across the room, hitting the wall hard. The young koopa stayed in the wall for a couple of seconds, before he collapse to the floor, leaving a mark of his shell in the wall of the bedroom. Junior looked weakly at his older brother as he approached him, the hammer firmly in his two hands. He opened his mouth to cry for help, only to be hit by the large chain that held onto the hammer head. Junior whimpered in pain as his brother approached him, grinning so maliciously, that even Bowser's own grins couldn't compare to.

"How does it feel to be in the ground, my dear brother?" asked Ludwig as he patted Junior's head, hard. "How does it feel to be defeated by your older brother that failed to capture Princess Peach and destroy Mario!? Huh!? How does it feel!?" He turned his back on his injured brother, and laughed. "Now, look at me, Junior!! Look at me! I possess a weapon that can destroy armies, a weapon that can destroy fortresses!! And…it's all thanks to the Star Power that father hid in his secluded chambers…." Junior looked in horror as his brother turned to face him once more, in his hand holding a crystal ball that glowed in yellow light. "I was able to manipulate the star's energy easily and turned it into power…" He glared at the fallen koopa. "Power not even that old excuse of a king could have!!"

"…why?" Junior managed to choke, still watching the weapon in his brother's hands.

"You ask why, when you know the answer...or perhaps, you have found the answer but want to believe in another…" Ludwig muttered, looking at his brother right in the eyes, venom ever so present. "I'll let you guess for a while, for now, I must see that the crown be placed in the proper head…if you know what I mean." The older koopa threw the yellow crystal ball at his brother. Junior only watched in surprise as the crystal ball shattered to pieces once it had touched his head. Then…that feeling came. Everything was hard, the koopa could barely move, his lungs had stopped receiving air, his whole body was stiff. Junior looked at his hands, as they turned from light orange, to gray.

"AHHHH!!!" He cried, trying hard to stand up. After a few seconds, the whole body of the koopa had turned to stone, his eyes staring back at Ludwig as he made his way out of the room. _Ludwig…_thought the statue as it watch the koopa close the door to his chambers.

_…What…what…what…are…you…going…to…do…? _

_De…s…stro…y…u…s…for…good…?_

_...Mario…ene…mies…or…not…hel…p…Papa…_

_

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_

Mario was surprised when he saw the lights in his house all turned off. The oldest of the Mario brothers made his way quietly around the living room, trying to find the switch to turn on the lights. He bumped against the sofas of the house and sometimes to the wall, accidentally. The red plumber gave a small sigh of relief as he finally felt the switch underneath his hand, and with a small movement, the lights were on again. "About time," a voice called, making Mario freeze on his spot. "I was getting bored of watching your senseless endeavor…" Mario turned to face the speaker, and gasped of what he saw.

Luigi stood not far away from him, wearing a different outfit. He wore a black jumpsuit with some green stripes across from it, he wore a green bandanna around his neck, that was accompanied by a large dark green cape, and some part of his face was covered in a black mask. The green cap lay on his head like always, with that cheerful letter, L. Next to him, was the princess of Sarasaland, sleeping peacefully and oblivious to anything around her. "Luigi?" Mario asked the man before him. His brother laughed a bit, shaking his finger at Mario.

"No…no. I'm afraid I'm not Luigi anymore, my friend…I like the name of Mr. L, nowadays."

"Luigi!! That's not like you!! What have you done to Daisy!?" Mario demanded, unable to contain his anger and terror. _No…this isn't happening again…my brother…is my enemy again…like that other time…no…this isn't happening!! This can't be happening!! IT JUST CAN'T!!_

"I would rather cut off this two hands of mine than to hurt a lady, Mario, you of all people should now that by now." Mr. L told him, smiling a bit.

"What do you want!?" cried Mario, raising both fists, ready to fight his younger brother if he had to. "Get Luigi out here! Give him his body back!!" Mr. L gave the red plumber a mocking bow, before he turned to face him again.

"I can't do that, my dear brother…because I am both…this is me, Mario!! Look at me, for it's the last you'll see of your 'little brother' before he pulverizes you!!" Mr. L's glowed light green, and seconds later, a green fireball made its way towards Mario. The red plumber quickly ducked the attack, and raised his fist towards his younger brother. _Luigi!! _Mario mentally cried as his fist connected to Mr. L's face. _Come on out!! Don't let this guy beat you!! _Mr. L was sent stumbling down; he held his red cheek with a gloved hand. "Good hit, but I have more tricks up my sleeve, observe!!" The green man raised his fist that had begun to glow in a green color again. Mr. L pounced on Mario, hitting the shorter man on his face. Soon, small little sparks of flew from Mr. L's hand straight towards Mario's body. The effect was almost instantaneous.

"AAAEEEEIEIIIHAAHAHAAHA!!" Mario cried in pain as the green electricity encircled his body. He twitched a bit, before he cried out again, feeling the sparks hit him in every corner of his body.

"Those the thunder pain you, brother?" Mr. L mocked as he watched as Mario recoiled in ache. "It should!!" He raised his fist again, the same green glow taking over it. "Now, prepare for the finale!!" Mario managed to stop twitching, and stared wide-eyed as Mr. L's fist moved towards him once more. The red plumber managed to jump out of the way, landing briskly on the sofa. The fist crashed against the wall before it, leaving a hole and sparks in its wake, and Mr. L wasted no time to try to remove it from the hole. Mario quickly saw this as a chance, and a sent kick towards his brother's back.

"HA!!" Mr. L hit the floor, face first. He didn't waste any time on the ground, however, and quickly stood up, only to watch another fist connect to his face. The hit sent him flying towards the end of the room, where he finally stopped, once his whole body hit the wall, causing a few cracks to appear upon it.

"Aaaghh!!" Mr. L leaned against the wall, injured and hurt, glaring back at the equally damaged Mario, whose clothes had some holes and burn marks in them. "…you…I…this isn't over!!" The man in green quickly made his way towards the door, and with another glowing punch, destroyed it.

"Luigi, wait!!" Mr. L scurried away from the house as quickly as he could, with Mario following behind him. "LUIGI!!" His brother cried, only to watch as his brother flew through the air seconds later, using the large cape behind him.**(2)**

"This isn't over, Mario!! Do you hear me!? Mr. L won't be defeated so easily!! I shall return!!" Mario watched helplessly as his brother flew away, finally disappearing in the clouds. The red plumber fell on his knees, holding his body from touching the ground with his two hands.

"…Luigi…what happened to you?"

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Ludwig walked carelessly on the grand hall, barely sparing the soldier koopas a second glance, as they stared at the hammer that he held in his hands with awe. The oldest Koopaling finally made it to his father's chambers, and as he opened the door, he looked back at the guards that stood watching him and the hammer. "Junior requests you in the armory," he lied to them. "It is very important you be there, go." The koopa guards nodded, and went on their way. Once they were out of sight, Ludwig entered the room and closed the door behind him.

Bowser was not a very tall koopa, but as appearances went, he was the best to give even a Boo a good scare. The Koopa King lay on his throne, cocking an eyebrow at his child and the weapon that he held in his hands. "Ah, Ludwig, son, what a surprise…I might say," the Koopa King told him as he faced him and the hammer. Ludwig bowed and nodded at his father.

"Good morning, father," Ludwig answered respectfully, even if his mind said otherwise. "I was called to your chambers by Junior, just now, was there something you wanted to speak to me about?" Bowser turned to face his son and gave a smile.

"Oh, yes…" Bowser got up from his throne, and turned to walk towards a nearby window, that overlooked his kingdom. In the distance Ludwig could barely make out the figure of a castle. Mushroom Castle. "Tomorrow, I shall send my army, again…this time," the Koopa King clenched a fist. "Mario will be defeated! Mark my words, Ludwig, he will fall under my flames!"

"…But…you'll fail, either way, right?" Bowser blinked at his son's response and turned to look at him.

"What did you say?"

"I said that you will fail…like now!!" Ludwig swung the hammer and hit Bowser before he could react.

"GROOOOOOOORRRR!!" Bowser growled in pain as his huge body hit his throne, already his yellow belly covered in bruises. "LUDWIG!!" He cried, looking at his son, who raised his hammer, and hit his father on his face. Bowser slammed against his throne once more. "Aaahhh…" he cried weakly, receiving another hit in the stomach.

"A weak king like you shouldn't be allowed to rule!!" Ludwig cried, as he hit the Koopa King again and again with the hammer. "The power of the stars has granted me the most powerful weapon in the world; even you don't stand a chance!!" **(3)**

"Please…Ludwig…mercy…" Bowser begged weakly to his son, as he leaned against his throne. "…please…mercy…I can't…fight anymore…"

"You speak the truth, Koopa King, but I'm not done, yet!" From out of nowhere, Ludwig took out a small yellow crystal and he threw it at the Bowser, who barely managed to speak. "Watch me, Koopa King, as I take over what you wanted!! As I make that princess my bride…and as I destroy Mario, with the weapon that struck you down!!" Ludwig watched slowly as his father's eyes grew wide in horror, and then, the eldest of the Koopalings stared at the former Koopa King as he slowly turned to stone. He then laughed. "And like Hector fell to the spear, the koopa falls to the hammer…" **(4) **And then, Ludwig turned towards the door and left the chamber, leaving behind the statue of a scared Koopa King watching him.

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Some things to point out:

**1- I always wondered were Bowser had obtained that car...this boss was a pain in the butt back then...it took me like ten times to beat him, hoping around like that!**

**2-I remember a special item that appeared in Super Mario World(got game right?) a cape that gave Mario or Luigi the power of flight. I thought this would work great with Mr. L...I mean, some bad guys need dramatic ways to escape, dont they?**

**3-Think about the star power as the star in the Mario Games that grants invisibility, and at times(I believe) knocks out the bad guys by just walking up to them. In a way, think about Ludwig's hammer as the Knockout Hammer from the Super Smash Bros. series, that's what I thought, anyway...**

**4-A small reference to Hector's defeat at the hands of Achilles(Hector also, ironically foresaw Achilles death when the other man killed him, kinda like giving a clue, there...). Achilles killed Hector by stabbing the man on his throat with his spear. **

Well, that clears things up, at least. Hope you all enjoy your Christmas and New Years!!

-Fyras14


	5. Chapter 5

Fyras14: Hello, everyone! The new year finally approaches, and this will be the last chapter that I will add for this year, 2008! Hahaha! I had fun this year, I managed to finish a couple of stories and had a lot of fun writing them! I will work hard to give you more exciting chapters of this story, until then, please have a good new year!

Please, read and leave a review, or criticize whichever comes first!

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"_Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."_

**-Lord Acton, **_Letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton, 1887_

**Chapter 5: Taking over an Empty Throne, Leading an Army **

Everything was dark in the Sarasaland Princess's eyes; she could feel her world spinning even if it was still dark, barely catching the sounds from outside. "…..Are…..sure….rio?" came the strange, yet sweet voice from somewhere around this darkness.

"Yeah…was….princess….L all over….ain…" A second voice answered the first, tough and slow. Daisy couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman that spoke, her world still black. The voices continued, oblivious to her small dilemma.

"But…what…could have….transformation…him?" asked that sweet voice, again.

"…whatever….was…really….him…." came that tough voice; Daisy was beginning to hear clearly now, that voice belonged to a man. "…if only…if only…." The man continued, only to be halted by that sweet voice, the voice of a woman.

" You couldn't have known Mr. L…would returned!"

_Mr. L? _Daisy thought, trying with all her might to open her eyes. The man and woman continued to talk, still unaware of her presence.

"I…I should have! You saw him yourself! He…he was so depressed after that…do you even know how many apologies I had to hear each day after that for him to feel better!? A lot of them! He felt….he felt guilty…and know…look what happened…he's back to being the bad guy again…who knows how he would end in the end…" Daisy opened one eye, finally seeing two shadows nearby.

"….Mario…" Both eyes were finally opened, and Daisy was able to finally recognize the shadows before her. One was dressed in pink, the other in red and blue.

"Peach? Mario?" asked the Sarasaland Princess, lazily, still trying to shake her mind awake. The plumber and the Mushroom Princess almost jumped when they heard Daisy speak. Peach went to see her sleepy friend, and held the other princess's hand in a tight grip.

"Oh, my goodness! Daisy, you are finally awake! How are you feeling?" The princess looked at her old friend with a confused stare, and was about to rise when she felt a sharp bolt of pain crash against her back. She flinched.

"…I think I'm a bit on the good side…although my back begs to differ…Ow…" Peach shook her head, releasing her grip on the flower princess's hand.

"Well, that's good to hear." The Mushroom Princess turned her back to her friend, and bent over a small coffee table to pick up a green colored cup. She turned to stare back at Daisy, and she gave her the cup. "Here…a cup of Yot-Yot**(1)** should make that back of your's better."

"Thanks," she told her, taking the cup. She drank a bit, only to wince, almost throwing the liquid back to the cup. "Yuck! This tastes horrible! Now…my tongue is hurting…" Peach put a hand on her mouth, trying her best not to laugh.

"…It may taste rough, Daisy, but Yot-Yot herb tea is the best at managing pain," spoke the red plumber, finally managing to speak after a while. Daisy didn't look up, but instead glared at the cup she was holding.

"…sugar would have been nice, though." The flower princess finally stared at Mario, but was puzzled at the few band-aids he had in his face, a black eye, and a swollen cheek. "Had a bad day?" she asked him. Mario winced, but nodded; Daisy could barely see the hint of sadness on his face. "So…where did Luigi go?" Both Peach and Mario exchanged worried glances, but Daisy was so busy looking for the green plumber that she didn't notice.

"Why do you ask?" Mario managed to choke out after a few seconds.

"I just want to thank him for saving me!"

"Saving you?" the plumber and princess asked in unison.

"Yeah! Well…you see he and I kinda ran into trouble near the forest, you see. We got surrounded by piranha plants!" She drank a bit from her tea, and winced, forgetting about its bad flavor. "…I got caught, and Luigi ended up fighting them all by himself…he also got hit.."

"Hit?"

"Yep, pretty hard, too. Good thing he got up at the next second, or else we would have been a big meal for the plants!...although," the flower princess suddenly stopped, and sat up in the sofa(which she finally noticed was acting as her bed).

"Although, what?" Mario asked her, wanting to know more of the details of their small incident.

"…There was something odd about him when he was attacking one of the piranha plants…he seemed very angry, or something like that. I couldn't really hear him well, so I just cheered him on, until that darn plant got tired of me hanging around and threw me to who knows where…and then, I woke up."

"So…he got hit…and then, he started to act strangely?" the red plumber asked her, putting a gloved hand over his chin. Daisy nodded. Mario turned to face Peach, who had a grim look on her face. "Do…you think?"

"Who knows, Mario…its very impossible to tell…" Daisy raised an eyebrow at her two friends, confusion all written in her face.

"What are you guys talking about?" Mario turned to face her, the plumber's face hidden under a facade of anger and sadness.

"….Daisy…do you remember when Luigi was acting strange, months ago?" A nod; how could she forget? She and Luigi had gone for walks, played golf or tennis, and many other things in order to help the green plumber cheer up. He was depressed since he, Mario, and Peach came back from their last adventure, one who's details remained in the dark. "….well…that was because….he…he turned into Mr. L…"

"Mr. L?" she asked, confused. Mario nodded.

"Mr. L…was one of my enemies…."

* * *

Roy Koopa walked like a king in the halls of the Koopa King's Fortress, watching with little interest as other koopas walked past him, carrying boxes and some weapons with them. This fortress had gone crazy since yesterday, when both King Bowser and Junior suddenly left, according to Ludwig to complete some sort of task, that was top secret, and so, they had left Ludwig in charge of the operation here until they got back.

Roy grunted as he walked, wondering why little Junior hadn't told him about father's secret mission, they were, after all close, and they both told each other things that couldn't be shared with the other Koopalings including their own father. He adjusted his pink glasses, making his way to the throne room, the place where Ludwig had called a meeting for them earlier. The third oldest of the Koopalings wondered what he wanted, seeing as only Bowser gave them others, but he suppose it was only right. The last thing Roy wanted was to upset his father and little brother. He opened the grand doors, and finally entered his father's chambers. The rest of the Koopalings were already there.

There was Lemmy Koopa, the second oldest and the clown of the family, trying his best not to fall off his ball, failing miserably. Nearby was Iggy Koopa, the fourth Koopaling, after Roy, who was busy looking at a small box he held in his hands. Next to him was the spoiled brat of the family, Wendy O. Koopa, looking at herself at the mirror, as Larry Koopa, one of the youngest of the Koopalings, skated past her. Morton Jr. Koopa nodded at Roy as he made his way to accompany the sixth son of Bowser. "What's up, Roy?" called the brown skinned Koopa, smiling and showing sharp teeth.

"Nothing much…" He then adjusted his glasses, and pointed a finger the other Koopalings, he added. "Seems the circus has come to town," Morton snickered, while his other siblings, mainly Wendy O., glared back at him.

"Very funny, Mr. Pink!" cried Wendy O., putting her mirror away.

"Well, it was suppose to be a joke, doll…no need to shoot lava out of them big eyes of yours." Roy told her, crossing both arms across his chest, grinning.

"Why you--"

"ENOUGH!!" A voice cried, making everyone in the room stop what they were doing. All six Koopalings turned to see their older brother, Ludwig von Koopa, enter the room, carrying with him a large hammer with a chain attached to it on the back. Behind him, were two bulky Hammer Bros., each with a blue colored shell and an ugly face to match. "You are in the Royal Chamber of the King! Be respectful!"

"Yeah…whatever you say," Roy told him, shaking a hand. "What do you want anyway? What's this meeting for?" Ludwig dropped his head, suddenly, letting out a small chuckle.

"To…well, how should I say this? King Bowser and Bowser Jr. are no more." Everyone, including Roy, looked back at the oldest of the Koopalings, their mouths hanging open.

"Wh-what?" the pink shelled Koopa asked Ludwig.

"I said," he snapped his fingers, and one of the bulky Hammer bros. walked over to the side of the room, and pulled something from the shadows. It was a huge piece of clothe that was covering two statues: one of the Koopa King, Bowser, and the other, of the youngest of his sons, Junior. "that they are no longer in charge of this place…I am." It took a while for Roy to process the information, and then he looked up at Ludwig.

"YOU!" He cried, bitterly. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO THEM!?" Ludwig merely sighed, and gave the angry pink shelled koopa an innocent smile.

"Why? I just put them in the right place…or stone as the case may be." The two Hammer bros. snickered; they were obviously not from Bowser's side of the army.

"Why you!!" Roy was about to jump on him, only to be held down by Lemmy and Iggy.

"Calm down, Roy!!" Lemmy cried, and then turned to Ludwig. "Ludwig! Why did you do this!?"

"Easy, really. Look around you, this army has become nothing but leftovers of greater warriors….Bowser overused it so much it became old and unusable. I plan to change all that…but…you could say that," he pointed an accusing finger at the Junior statue. "he was the caused of it." Roy's eyes widen behind his shades, and he dragged both Iggy and Lemmy with him as they tried their best to restrain him.

"You were jealous, you filthy piece of slime!?"

"Not really...but, rather, how I was seen as a failure while he was seen as the best, despite his many failures that came after. We, the Koopalings, only failed a couple of times, and look what we were made into! Guards to watch over this fortress!"

"That is our job, Ludwig!!" cried Roy, finally shaking both Iggy and Lemmy off him. "He gave that job to us!! Our father trusted this castle to us! To protect it!! And now, you're telling us that you didn't agree with him, or what!? That he gave us this job to humiliate us, is that it!?" Ludwig laughed.

"You don't understand, do you? Not that you could, even if you tried…this isn't about being jealous...this is about power…." He grabbed the hammer that was hanging on his back. "This…is power…power that I gained through my own intellect and cunning, something that Bowser would never obtain!" Roy snapped, and jumped towards his older brother. Ludwig snickered, and hit him with the hammer, sending the pink shelled koopa towards the wall.

"Aaaah…" Roy cried, painfully as he fell down to the ground. He got up again, and took off his glasses, dropping them on the floor. "…Bastard…you won't get away with this…" Roy, through sheer will power, managed to ran towards Ludwig again, this time, the oldest of the Koopalings, hit him in the face with a fist. The third son of Bowser hit the floor, grabbing his face in pain.

"You weren't exactly wise, were you, Roy?" Ludwig gave his brother a swift kick, sending the younger koopa a few inches away from him. Morton ran over to his fallen brother, and glared at Ludwig.

"You are a monster!!"

"Am I?" Ludwig asked, grinning. He looked back at his other siblings, who were all scared and shaking, from the exception of Wendy O., who was more impressed than horrified by the great power he had shown. "Now…my dear brothers and sister…you can join me, or be forced to receive," he glanced at Roy, who still was in the floor, breathing hard. "a rather, painful punishment…refuse to follow my orders and you will be turned to stone." He took out a small yellow ball, and threw it at the two brothers, both looked in shock as the ball broke in two, and the next minute, the five remaining Koopalings looked back at the statue of a shocked Morton Jr. and a weakened Roy. "So…what is your answer?" Wendy O. was the first that answered, excited to move past guard duty with her older brother in charge.

"I'll join big brother!!" Wendy O. jumped, grinning mischievously. "As long as I get my dresses and jewels you'll hear good things from me!" Ludwig nodded; as long as he kept her greedy needs fed, she'll obey him. He looked at the other three, Lemmy shook his fist in anger.

"So, what will you do?" he asked them.

"We are done talking to you." Lemmy told him. "Do your worst." Ludwig sighed, and shook his head at his three brothers.

"And to think we could have ruled together…it seems I was wrong…" Three more yellow balls went their way, turning the three Koopalings into statues seconds later. He turned to face Wendy O., and grinned. "Prepare the army, dear sister…we are going to visit Mushroom Kingdom…for the final time."

"Right away! Ah! And don't forget about my pay! Those dresses won't be able to buy themselves, you know!" Ludwig shook a head as he watched her leave, wondering if his deceased mother was exactly like her.

* * *

Daisy sat in the sofa, looking at the cup in her hands. Her silence answering Mario and Peach, who had their heads lowered. The adventure that Luigi had despised to talk about was already in her head, making her dizzy with information. "So…that's why he was…" she asked, looking back at the two.

"Yeah…" Mario told her, sighing. "…we thought that the this was over…but…I was wrong…somehow, Mr. L managed to get out and now…who knows what he is making Luigi do…and after what you told me, about his sleepwalking, Daisy…" He nodded his head, at the comment that Daisy manage to say during midway of the his story of their little adventure months ago. "…it seems Mr. L was already trying to come out…"

"Him…getting hurt…only brought that Mr. L guy out?"

"Who knows…" Mario said, scratching the back of his head. "Luigi and his other self are the only people that can give us the answer…" Daisy quickly excused herself, and almost ran towards the bathroom, ignoring the pain of her back. She let big tears fall from her eyes as she thought of her loved one being lost in the darkness of his heart.

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**Things to sort out first!**

**1- Yot-Yot is the name of a fictional herb, but if it is real, please correct me. It is usually used to heal injuries, relieve pain, fever, and headaches.  
**

Some of you might be confused on why only one Koopaling will be obeying Ludwig, well, that's because I thought Wendy fit the part of the second evil sibling, due to the fact that she will do what she is told if given the right motivation...coughclothesshoescouhgh

See you next year!


	6. Chapter 6

Fyras14: Sorry about the delay, guys! Busy with chores and stuff...I just got the chapter done...this will be the last update, for the week, I'm afraid...you can except the other update to be either on Thursday or Friday(I'm expected to go to the dentist on Saturday, so after seeing him/her, I might get low on spirits...you know...razor sharp things inside mouths, etc.) So, please wait until then!

I hope this isnt too rushed of a chapter...I had expected to do this since the beginning...so I have to move to the invasion(I already took a while with it and all)

No Luigi/Daisy in this chapter, I'm afraid, but lots of Mr. L! And the bad news about next week's update is that the chapter might be shorter...sorry, I have a cliffhanger planned for next week!

Please read and review, or criticize, whichever comes first!

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"_He who has a thousand friends has not a friend to spare, and he who has one enemy will meet him everywhere."_

**-Ralph Waldo Emerson(1803-1882) **

**Chapter 6: The Proposal, An Alliance of Old Foes**

Mr. L's hand glowed green as he let another fireball hit the wooden logs before him, in a matter of seconds, the log was nothing but flames and later, ashes. It had been two days since his encounter with Mario and his defeat at the red plumber's hands. For those past two days he had healed his injuries and ego and taken out all his frustration on the things he had stolen. _To think my plan to attract Mario with the thieveries would be a complete failure, _Mr. L thought as he let another fireball hit a group of wooden logs. _My other self was too weak and I, Mr. L, could take over, but…what was it that I did wrong!? The plan was perfect! _In a fit of anger, the green plumber raised a hand, that glowed green, and pointed a finger at the group of wires, logs, and pipes that still remained unharmed. A few seconds later a thunder struck the materials, turning them to nothing but ashes. "The plan was perfect!! Why!? How could my other self triumph over me!?" he cried, and looked around, spotting nothing but trees wherever he looked. "…but, I cannot cry no longer over a loss…I must recuperate and continue with this path if I am to get my revenge on Mario…and also rescue the lady from his grasp." Mr. L turned to walk away from the remains of the pipes, logs, and wires, when a strange noise caught his ears.

"…**brrrrrrrr….brrrrrrr…" **

"Hmm? Now, what in the world could that be?" Mr. L moved slowly towards the nearby bushes, hearing that strange noise once again, this time it was louder and closer.

"…**..BRRRRRR!.....BRRRRR!!" **

"DAMN!!" Mr. L moved away from the bushes, as two shells rolled towards the plumber, destroying the plants in the process. The shells rolled around Mr. L for a couple of minutes, before they both stopped, one in front of the man and the other in the back. Two bulky Hammer Bros. revealed themselves to Mr. L, getting out their hammers from their shells as they did so.

"**Look who it is, big brother, Snapper," **called the Hammer Bro. that stood before Mr. L to the other.

"**Luigi, Mario's little bratty brother, isn't it Tertius?"** asked the older brother, Snapper to the other.

"**Yes, yes! Little bratty brother of Mario's!!" **Tertius cried, laughing a bit as he did. Mr. L gave them a glare, and watched them closely as they approached him. **"Don't worry we won't hurt ya much, little bratty Mario brother!" **

"**We will barely touch you," **Snapper called, raising his hammer. Tertius nearby did the same, both approach Mr. L slowly.

"I fear, gentlemen," Mr. L began, making the Hammer Bros. stop in their tracks. "that this won't do!" He suddenly jumped in the air, and landed on the face of Snapper, making the koopa drop his hammer.

"**OUCH!! OUCH!! OFFA ME YOU LITTLE BRATTY BROTHER!!" **cried Snapper, trying his best to get the jumping man on the ground.

"Manners are essential, gentlemen," Mr. L told them, still hopping on Snapper's head. "if you don't have manners for your superiors it would cause you many headaches."

"**GET OFFA MY BIG BROTHER, YOU BIG BRATTY KID!!" **Tertius ran to his brother's aid, raising the hammer towards Mr. L. The younger Hammer bro. let the hammer fall, missing the green plumber, and hitting Snapper in his face. Snapper fell back, knocked out by his brother's hammer strike. **"AEEEIII!! SNAPPER!! SORRY!! SORRY!!" **cried Tertius. He looked back Mr. L, who landing expertly behind him. **"YOU!! MADE ME HURT HIM!!" **

"Intelligence was needed to avoid that…something you, my friend, can't bare to carry thanks to that shell of yours."

"**WHY, YOU!!" **Tertius quickly hid in his shell and started to spin like crazy towards Mr. L. The man raised a hand, that glowed green as he pointed towards the sky.

"And anger only serves fools like you to be defeated! Now, taste my thunder!!" From out of nowhere, a thunder hit the spinning shell, that was stopped a second or so after it hit. Smoke began to raise from the shell, and then, Mr. L heard a loud groan coming from within it. "Hmph! Pathetic fools!! This was an enemy to be feared!? BAH! I could have defeated them without even trying!"

"Well…I must say," came a voice from behind him, making Mr. L freeze. "I never thought you would be able to defeat my best men so well, and so efficiently…my strategy has been spoiled…" Mr. L quickly turned around, and spotted Ludwig von Koopa wielding a hammer. The man in green raised an eyebrow at the medium sized koopa with messy blue hair as he approached him.

"Ludwig von Koopa? Humph…never thought that I would meet you of all people…or koopas as the case may be…" Ludwig raised an eyebrow at the man before him, and examined him. Luigi looked different since the last time he saw him; he remembered as he and Mario had entered his castle and easily defeated him, with well done tactics and luck. The Luigi before him had some sort of dark essence around him, but Ludwig threw that aside and examined the hammer in his hands.

"Whether you expected me or not, that doesn't concern me, green man…" Ludwig told him, giving him a small devilish grin. "I shall make sure that you and that brother of yours get what you deserve…" He raised the hammer, with Mr. L still looking at him, completely ignoring the fact that he carried a hammer with him. "neither you nor Mario will get in the way of my revenge and my take over of this kingdom!" The hammer went straight towards Mr. L, who acted quickly and somersaulted out of the way. He landed safety far away from the hammer and Ludwig. "You surprise me, Luigi, never have I seen you show that side to me!"

"I don't expect this to last long!" He raised a hand to the sky, and looked back at Ludwig, who ran after him, swinging his hammer towards him. Mr. L grumbled, and jumped, no longer concerned of attacking the rampaging koopa. _This just won't do, _Mr. L thought as he dodge another attack. _He is making this too difficult…how to disarm him for him to let me be?...Aha!! Presto!_ Mr. L gave another jumped, and landed just in front of the koopa. Ludwig stopped in surprise, as Mr. L quickly disarmed him and took the hammer from his hands. The man in green walked away, holding the hammer. "No…how did you--"

"Another loss for the record, it seems…" Mr. L said, examining the hammer he held in his hands. "quiet the thing you had, too…I can feel its power within," he turned to face Ludwig, and grinned. Then, much to Ludwig's surprise, the man before him threw the hammer back to him. "You are of no concern to me…do as you please with the kingdom…but, know that Mario is for me to destroy alone…I have given you your power back, koopa…used it as you please, as long as you don't interfere with my revenge." Ludwig stood still, shocked of what he had just heard. Did he hear correctly? Was his mind playing tricks? Had, one of his greatest enemies, given to him the means to destroy the Mushroom Kingdom back to his hand? "Are you not going to take your weapon, koopa?" Ludwig blinked, and watched Mr. L pointing at the hammer near his feet.

"…you are just going to let me walk out with the means to destroy your kingdom?" Ludwig asked the man, seconds later. Mr. L shrugged, and turned his back on him.

"….why do you care, Ludwig? My purpose, as simple as it may be, was just told to you…I'm no longer a hero…an avenger, more likely…that will trample his foes…and you, are not one of them…at least, not for now." Ludwig picked up his weapon, and gave the ex-hero a confused look.

"Why?"

"It is easy, really. My brother took what little I could earn…he took away what little attention I received…I was called a coward because of him…and now…I have decided to no longer live in his shadow, I resented him for that. With his defeat at my hand, I shall show the world who is truly powerful." Ludwig felt himself grinning. _So, the younger brother has rebelled against his older sibling? Interesting…_

"Say, Luigi--" Mr. L quickly raised a hand, interrupting him.

"No longer shall I go by that name, koopa. I go by the name of Mr. L, now."

"So…Mr. L," Ludwig corrected himself. "what do you say, if I help you with your revenge?" Mr. L looked back at him confused.

"Excuse me?"

"You see….even though we are enemies, I feel the need to repay you for being such an honorable warrior in our fight, previously, which I will apologize to you for that. In exchange, work for me, and you will get to fight Mario and not only that, but show it to the whole kingdom…perhaps the world." Mr. L put a gloved hand in his chin, and looked back at the koopa before him.

"Why?"

"Seeing that we share the same goal of destroying Mario, well, you in a much more professional level than I…I thought it would only be fair to…well, you understand…let him be defeated by someone better than him, and you, in my eyes look the strongest."

"You flatter me, koopa…but, I don't think that working for you shall be of my benefit…but, your offer rests heavy on my shoulders…"

"Accept it, then." Ludwig told him. Mr. L thought about it, and gave him a nod.

"Fine…I shall accept the offer, but…allow me to put my conditions, shall we?" Ludwig smiled, and nodded.

"Of course…what is your price?"

"That…I be given the chance to kill Mario by myself…and," he closed his eyes, as he said the last part. "save a princess from his grasp."

"It…shall be done…shall we go? The day is still young, and my forces itch for the chance of a fight…" Ludwig turned to leave, followed closely behind by Mr. L deep into the trees where he had come from.

* * *

Mario sighed, shaking his head at the failed attempt to find his brother. Daisy sat herself on the nearby sofa, and sighed along with him. It had been two days since their last encounter with Luigi/Mr. L, and no matter where they looked, they still couldn't find the man.

"I can't believe it…where he could he have gone?" Daisy asked, removing some sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. "Even the place where Luigi led me too is empty…where could he have gone?"

"If I know Mr. L well, then he probably is hiding to attack again…" He looked back at Daisy's worried face that matched his own. "We can try to subdue him, and hit him again in the head…that'll probably would bring Luigi back…"

"And what if it doesn't?" Mario shrugged.

"Hitting his head brought Mr. L back…so maybe hitting him again will bring Luigi out…then, we can help him…"

"Yeah…I just wish there was a different way to help him…" Daisy muttered, flinching a bit. The pain of her back still not cured even after two days.

"Do you want some tea?"

"No…I think I'll pass…"

"Yot-Yot is good for you, Da--"

"MARIO!! MARIO!!!" Suddenly the two occupants of the house, turned around and spotted a very panicked Toad in the doorway.

"Toad? What's wrong?" Toad jumped like crazy and pointed outside.

"The koopas!! They have invaded the Castle!!"

"Koopas!? The castle!?" Daisy asked, getting up from the sofa and ignoring the pain. "Oh no! Peach!!" Everyone got out of the house, and in the distance, they could see an army of koopas, walking towards the castle. Mario gasped as he saw what was leading them; it was the Koopa Clown Car, flying towards the Mushroom Castle.

Bowser was back, again.

* * *

Sorry if the chapter ended kind of lame...and those of you that are surprise as to why Mr. L did what he did, well...let me know what you think if the conversation with him and Ludwig wasnt enough to answer that question.

Yeah, I know...I want you guys to figure that out! ;)

Please leave a review, and see you next week!!


	7. Chapter 7

Fyras14: Hello everybody! Sorry for the wait...I had to redo the chapter due to some unsatisfied grammar, and some just-not-gonna-happen moments! This is a rather small chapter, as I said last week, but dont worry, next week's chapter(which might come out sooner if I feel like it) will be longer...

Kenta-Sonek-Raikiri:Thanks for the suggestion of the alternate ending, and also for showing me that music video, I enjoy hearing Mario music from time to time. You can send me the idea if you want, I will see what I can do with it, I already have the ending planned out in my head, so it wouldn't be too bad in hearing your alternate ending.

Please read and review, or criticize, whichever comes first!

EDIT(1/9/09)- Fixed some errors! Thanks for pointing it out, luigi rocsz!

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"_War may sometimes be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, never a good. We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other's children." _

**-Jimmy Carter(1924-)**

**Chapter 7: Mario, Mr. L, and the Koopa Overlord**

Mario and Daisy could barely see the Clown Car as it floated towards the castle, below it an army of koopas, big and small, armed to the teeth. Both could see many of the Toads running for their lives as the koopas came their way, some were knocked down, and others hit with either a bat or hammer. Paratroopas and Lakitus flew nearby the Clown Car, protecting it from the sky, with a Lakitu occasionally dropping a Spiny or two nearby to aid in the terrorizing of the small Toad Town. The red hero glared at the terrorizing Koopa Troop, as some of the army vandalized some Toads and their homes. He stared back at the young Toad that had warned them of the attack.

"Listen," he told him, sternly. "take princess Daisy and any Toads you can find to safety! Get as far away from here as you can!" The flower princess, suddenly, stomped the ground furiously.

"Wait a minute, Mario!!" she cried. "I'm not staying behind while you fight the koopas by yourself!"

"Daisy, listen to me…your back is still hurt…get some--"

"I'm fine!" Daisy yelled, interrupting the plumber. "My back is not that bad anymore! I want to help save Peach as well!" Mario only blinked twice, almost missing the princess go inside to his house, and seconds later she came out, holding a frying pan in hand. The pan, he noticed sadly, was the same one that Luigi had used days previously to cook breakfast. "I may not jump around like you or make fireballs with my hands, but I'm pretty sure this pan here will make short work of those guys!"

"Well…I…" Mario was unable to form words as he watched the young woman wield the pan, then he sighed, seeing no way of convincing the flower princess to leave the fighting to him, already holding the kitchen utensil as some sort of sword. "Fine." He told her, making the princess smile. Mario turned to the small Toad, "Listen…go now, do what I tell you!" The small Toad nodded at Mario and waved his hand, as he went to do what he was told. After he was gone, Mario turned to face Daisy, and said sternly, "I'm letting you come with me as long as you stay behind me, got it?"

"Yes, sir." Daisy saluted, mockingly.

Both moved as fast as they could towards the houses, until finally they spotted the first small group of koopas. They all wore a different color of shell—from red to blue. The koopas all looked back at Mario and the princess, and ran towards them, trying to tackle the plumber and princess with their heads. Mario jumped quickly, stomping the trio of koopas, missing a few that went straight to Daisy. "Daisy!" cried the plumber, quickly grabbing a red shell and throwing it to another coming blue shelled koopa. He didn't need to worry for Daisy, as she was expertly hitting the koopas with the pan. She sent two koopas flying**(1)**, one almost landed on Mario, but he was able to dodge it on time.

"Ha! Take that you creeps!" Daisy cried, hitting another koopa and sending it flying in the air. The flying koopa crashed against a few of his friends, knocking more koopas down. Mario's hand, then, began to glow in a light red color, and seconds later, a small fireball came out of the glow. The fireball went straight to the koopa group in the ground, hitting them. Mario then jumped on them, the previous attack already had them confused and injured, hitting them all with a stomp. The koopas recoiled in pain, and soon after hid in their shells, too weak to even fight. Mario and Daisy exchanged glances; the Clown Car was still too far away. "We aren't going to reach that koopa if we fight little groups all of the time!" Mario dug into his pockets, and found what he was looking for. He produced a small wing the size of his thump from his pocket, it had a bright P on the middle.

"Maybe this will help," Mario told her, and then, ate it. In a flash of light, a large red cape appeared on his back, a bright yellow letter P in the middle of it.**(2)** He looked back at Daisy. "Ready to fly?"

"You bet I am!" Mario grabbed her, bridal style, and jumped. The cape doing all the rest, flying towards the Clown Car, trying their best to not be spotted by the Lakitus and Paratroopas that accompany their king in the sky. "We are still too far…" Daisy whispered to Mario, holding the pan firmly with both hands.

"…yeah, we need to surprise them."

"I got the pan ready," Daisy informed him. Mario nodded, and flew towards the pair of koopas. Before the Lakitu or Paratroopa could notice, Daisy hit them with the pan, knocking them out of the sky. They moved to the next group of Lakitus and Paratroopas, stealthy knocking them out, one by one. Two more Paratroopas stood in the way to the King of the Koopa Troop. Both tried their strategy again, but were almost hit by a hammer. Looking down, Mario noticed that a group of Hammer Bros. had noticed them in the air.

"Mario!! Mario in the sky!!" The Hammer Bros. and neighboring koopas cried. Mario turned back and saw the two Paratroopas turning around, and going towards them. Both fell victim to Daisy's pan slapping, and fell to the ground, falling on top of some Hammer Bros. below. "There he is, get him!!" More hammers flew towards them, Mario doing everything in his power to dodge the attacks.

"Mario!!" Daisy cried, pointing a finger to his back. The plumber turned around, and noticed the cause of her call. His cape was on fire, a Magikoopa flying in a Lakitu's cloud nearby.

"Hold on, Daisy! This will be a forced landing!!" Mario and Daisy held each other for dear life as they fell. When they finally reach the ground, Mario was on his buttocks, and Daisy on top of him.

"Well, well…look who it is…" Both plumber and princess forgot about their fall, and looked back as the Clown Car slowly turned to face them. Mario gasped at what he saw. It was not Bowser that rode the car, but his oldest son, Ludwig von Koopa.

"You!?" Mario cried, getting up and helping Daisy in the process. The plumber and princess glared back at Ludwig, who only looked at them in amusement.

"Ah…Mario, has it been so long? Its so wonderful to see you again," Ludwig told him, smiling evilly. He snapped his fingers, and seconds later, both the hero and the princess were surrounded by koopas, even in the air. "I fear, however, that this meeting may be cut short."

"What are you and your father planning!?" Mario asked him, glaring back at Ludwig, sparring a few glances at the enemies around him and Daisy, the princess holding the pan in defense.

"What makes you think my father is involved in all of this?" the koopa asked him. Mario stared back at him in confusion.

"What?" Ludwig shook his head, in disappointment.

"Oh…I do sometimes forget that you and I are not in the same intellectual level. I will tell you, anyway, seeing as this will be the last you will be hearing…" Ludwig's disappointed face was soon replaced by a rather cheerful, yet devilish glare. "I took care of Bowser and his sons," he explained. Daisy and Mario glanced at each other in confusion.

"What do you--" Mario began, only to be cut off by Ludwig as he raised a hand.

"I got rid of them, simple as that," he told him. "now, I have no time to destroy you, I'm afraid…I'll let an old friend take care of that."

"An old friend?" Ludwig pointed a finger to the sky, and Mario looked up, something was flying fast towards them.

Mr. L landed gracefully in front of Mario, nodding back at Daisy with a simple and kind smile. "LUIGI!!" Daisy and Mario cried, glad to see their old friend again. Mr. L, however, was not here to be friends with Mario. He pointed a finger at him.

"Mario!!" he cried. "Come, we shall finish what we started!!" His hand began to glow green, and Mario had no choice but to prepare for the fight.

"…Luigi…" he muttered, and was forced to look on as his brother sent his attack.

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**Things to point out-**

**1-From some footage I saw from a Mario Party game that showed Daisy hitting Bowser and sending him flying, I can only conclude that this young lady is quite tough...and then, comes the frying pan...who wouldn't pack a punch with that?**

**2-I think I made a mistake with this P-Wing...you see, when I was almost halfway done, I looked into the Mario Wiki(it is helping me write this fic), and read that it was used by that Racoon Mario Power up, although maybe I was wrong...still, I won't change it, though..People can point out the mistake if they want. **

Well, I guess that is all to explain for this chapter! Please leave a review, or criticize, whichever comes first!


	8. Chapter 8

Fyras14: Hello, everyone! Chapter eight of this story is as good as here! I know you all were waiting for some colossal fight between Mario and Luigi, but so sorry to tell you that I'm saving that one up for later in the story! Some Daisy/Luigi moments in here as well, and more of Ludwig's sick and evil mind!

I want to thank everyone that has reviewed this story, as this forces me to update the story as soon as I can! This will be my main project for a while, so look forward to another update this week if it is possible!

Please, read and review, or criticize, whichever comes first.

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"_We must love one another, yes, yes, that's all true enough, but nothing says we have to like each other. It may be the very recognition of all men as our brothers that accounts for the sibling rivalry, and even enmity, we have toward so many of them." _

**-Peter De Vries(1910-1993)**

**Chapter 8: Between Brothers, Blood is Spilled**

Mario looked at the green glowing hand of his brother, his insides couldn't stop shaking. He was not afraid of his younger brother, but rather, he was afraid of hurting Luigi…and now, Mario's fear would come to fruition and he couldn't do anything to stop it. "AH!! GET YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF ME!!" Mario suddenly turned around when he heard the familiar screaming, gasping at what he saw. A pair of koopas had managed to grab Daisy while she was busy looking at the other way, and were now holding her hostage. Mr. L seemed to notice this too, and he looked back at the koopas.

"You hurt her, and I'll have your shell," he hissed, making the pair shake a little, but their grip on Daisy still remained strong. Mr. L turned to glare at Mario, his own hand still glowing green. "Are you ready, brother?" he asked him. Mario was already in position, but he didn't glare, unlike his younger brother, his expression was that of guilt, pain, and fear, all mixed into one. Then, the fight began. Mr. L released a green fireball from his hand, that Mario easily reflected with a red fireball of his own. Once the two attacks had crashed, both brothers ran towards each other, each receiving, dodging, or covering a hit. Daisy looked sadly at the fight, her eyes close to tears. Around her, the koopas all cheered for Mr. L, and their new master, Ludwig looked on, showing an interest to the fight.

"Luigi!!" the princess of Sarasaland cried, catching only Ludwig's attention as the two others continued on with their fight. "LUIGI!! Stop!! Stop, ple—Rmmm!!" Ludwig made a sign, and Daisy's mouth was covered by one of the koopas that was holding her still. With her mouth covered, Daisy could only watch in mild horror as Mario and Mr. L exchanged blows, each harder than the last.

Mario looked at his brother, as both connected their fist against each others faces. Both jumped backwards, looking at each other with determination. "Why did you join Ludwig and his goons, Luigi?" Mario asked, dodging another green fireball that Mr. L sent his way. Mr. L sent a high kick that was easily evaded by his older brother.

"…Luigi is no longer my name, dear brother…and as to the why, look around you." Both brothers punched each other once more, their fists covering the blow. "The new Koopa King has offered me this chance, and I shall not waste it!!" His hand glowed a dangerous green, and Mario's eyes widen at what he was about to do. Mr. L's hand was surrounded by green and yellow sparks, and then, he punched Mario.

"AAAAIIIIIIHHAHAHAHAAHA!!!" Mario cried in pain as every part of his body was shocked. All around him, shouts of amazement rang out and even laughs. Daisy blinked at the ball of green and yellow light that Mario had become, and gasped as she saw the plumber collapse in the ground, everyone could see that that attack had exhausted him.**(1) **Mr. L walked up to his brother, and crossed both his arms at the sight of his brother, shaking his head sadly as he did so.

"You disappoint me, brother…to think this fight could last longer," Mario looked back at his brother from the corner of his eye. Daisy, behind the two brother, quickly shook under the koopas grip. Mr. L raised a hand to the heavens, and then looked back at his brother. "…we might see each other again in the other world, dear brother…" Thunder was heard in the distance, and Mr. L looked back at his fallen brother. "good bye…brother, I hope you don't feel a lot of pain."

Daisy couldn't take it anymore, she bit the koopa's hand that was covering her mouth, hard, making the koopa lose her grip on her, she then, stomped the foot of the other koopa that was still holding her. Once she was free from her captors, the princess ran as fast as she could towards the two brothers, Ludwig calling behind her. "What are you fools looking around for!? Catch her!!" The koopas nearby quickly went towards her, but were unable to stop her as she put herself between the two brothers, making Mr. L gasp. His hand fell to the ground almost immediately, his attack stopping all together.

"Princess!" Mr. L cried, looking at Daisy dumbfounded as she protected Mario from harm. "wh--"

"Please stop!!" Daisy cried. "Stop this, Luigi!! Please go back to normal!!" Mr. L was confused by her statement, and slightly shrugged. The koopas nearby, not moving anymore as they watched the scene unfold in front of them.

"I'm already normal, my dear…" he told her. Daisy shook her head frantically, already the tears began to fall. Mario looked back at the flower princess as his energy slowly came back to him**(2)**, his eyes showing the same kind of emotion that the princess was expressing now.

"No, you're not!!" Daisy yelled, this time, louder than before for everyone to hear. "Please…please…this isn't the man I--" Daisy stopped talking altogether, suddenly, taking the two plumbers by surprise. Her eyes were devoid of any emotion, and she had not moved from her place. Suddenly, her bright yellow dress became grey, as well as most of her body. Then, in the blink of an eye, Daisy the Princess of Sarasaland, turned to stone. Mr. L's eyes widen at the sight, as well as Mario's, and even some koopas looked back at the stoned princess in shock.

"DAISY!!" Mr. L, grabbing the stone princess's face with his hands. Then, he glared at Mario, his brother barely getting up from the blow of thunder he had received. Mario didn't even have time to spare, as Mr. L pounced on him like some wild dog. "YOU!! Bring her back!!"

"Luigi, what are--" Mario didn't get to finish his sentence, as Mr. L sent a blow to his mouth.

"Return her back, you disgraceful man!!"

"But, I didn't--" Another blow connected to the red plumber's face, and Mario was forced to fight back instead of explaining himself. Some of the koopas moved away from the two struggling brothers, who by now, had been curled up in a ball, punching, kicking and even biting at each other like some wild animals. On the Koopa Clown Car, Ludwig grinned to himself as he set eyes on the two struggling brothers, gripping a small yellow ball in his hand. _Wise move, Ludwig…now, he's out for blood…_He glanced towards the statue nearby, and gave a small silent laugh, only he could hear. _Love…such a wonderful thing, such a dangerous weapon. _

Ludwig looked back at the struggling brothers, now, both were no longer in a ball, but staring at each other, both as weakened as the other, with Mr. L the weaker of the two since he had engaged in a dogfight with Mario, his anger taking over his mind and abilities. The red plumber walked up towards him, and raised his hand. Mario was going to knock Mr. L down! Ludwig quickly armed himself with his hammer, and jumped towards them, then, with a great swing he hit Mario, sending him flying towards the sky.

"AAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!" Ludwig and the other koopas watched as Mario flew in the air, and then, he went down, crashing towards the woods. Ludwig turned towards the fallen Mr. L and extended a hand.

"I hope you don't mind the interruption…I thought you might need a hand…or a hammer." Mr. L took his hand and got up, his eyes ignoring Ludwig completely as they rested on the princess of stone nearby.

"No…I don't mind…I got careless…and so, I shall wait for that revenge…right now, it is the poor maiden I wish to help…." Ludwig nodded, and turned to the sky.

"You!" He cried to a paratroopa, "Take the lady here and guide Mr. L back to the Koopa Castle, I shall be there shortly!" The paratroopa nodded, and grabbed the Daisy statue, flying towards the direction of Bowser's Castle. Mr. L hesitated to follow, but did so, and soon, he was in the air flying behind the koopa that carried his beloved. **(3) **Once both the koopa and plumber were gone, Ludwig hoped back to the Clown Car and looked back at the other koopas. "Prepare my men!! Today, is the day we take over the Mushroom Kingdom, now go!!" All the koopas, saluted their master and went on their way towards the castle. He looked as his men took care of the Toad Guards and some others, easily getting rid of them. Ludwig von Koopa then gave a loud laugh, crying out, "Finally! The Mushroom Kingdom is mine!! And soon, this whole world will be as well!!"

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**Some things to sort out, first!**

**1-If you guys recalled the chapter when they first fought, you will probably realize that Mr. L's thunder fist is a very strong, if not, very dangerous attack and since Mario had already received more hits, it was only natural that he'll get knocked out, easily. **

**2-Here it will be quiet difficult to explain why Mario' s strength came back so quickly, so I'll try to summarize a bit. You see, think of Mario having lost one life(like in the newer games, not the old ones were their was no life bar) right now...if he is not given the final hit, his energy will recover, but unlike the game, where one usually gets Mario fully recovered, here in my story, it would only be a little bit of strength that will be recovered, but he is still able to fight as you read earlier. (Questions can be asked, as well, if you didnt get the explanation...that I offered).**

**3-If you guys recalled the chapter in which Mr. L and Mario fight, you would mostly likely know why he can fly. **

While this chapter wasn't as long as I hoped it to be, it did turn up quiet nicely, expect next chapter to be a bit longer than this one, with a new character to introduce to the already small(or big?) cast of characters.

Hope you review!!


	9. Chapter 9

Fyras14: Hello everyone! Here is an early chapter nine! Hope you all enjoy! A new character is introduced in this chapter, and he will be Mario's companion for a while. Ludwig also makes an appearance...his evil mind is begining to scare this author a bit, but do not fear! Another update will follow after...

Please read and review, or criticize, whichever comes first!

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"_There is no such thing as a self-made man. You will reach your goals only with the help of others."_

**-George Shinn**

**Chapter 9: The Two Princesses, the Koopa King, and the Blue Yoshi**

Peach stared at the floor as the koopas guided her to her new home in the tower. The tower in the Koopa Castle had been her home for the last two days since Ludwig von Koopa took over her castle. Had she not surrendered to him right there, he would have killed many of the Toad Guards that were protecting her. Now she wondered if she had made the right choice, she shook her head as the koopas opened the door to the tower for her. Then, they pushed her inside. The koopas quickly closed the door behind her, leaving her alone; or so Peach thought. The Mushroom Princess looked back at Ludwig, who stood near the window, a huge hammer strapped in his back by a small rope. Next to him, a statue of a small Bowser Jr. stood, Peach could have sworn she saw pain in the eyes of the statue, but quickly shrug it off and glared at Ludwig.

"What do you want?" the princess asked him, coldly. Ludwig turned to face the princess, and gave her a grin.

"Ah, princess…how do you do? Enjoying your stay in the Koopa HQ?"

"No." Peach told him, glaring at him with all her might. Ludwig just sighed, and shook his head.

"I should have known you wouldn't love to be here…even when my father imprisoned you, you still didn't enjoy being here, even though Bowser gave you some privileges." **(1) **Ludwig suddenly laughed, and jumped to where Peach was standing, making the princess gasp and collapse to the ground. "But, I'm afraid I cannot offer you those privileges anymore…and for a good reason." He quickly turned towards the Junior statue, and patted the head of the stoned koopa. "He is not here to give them to you…"

_MAMA! _Peach looked around as she heard the familiar voice echo in her ears. _MAMA!! _It came again. She looked back at the statue that Ludwig patted, his grin not leaving his face.

"Can you hear his pleas, as well?" he asked her, hitting the statue harder. "It is the cry of a pathetic child that asks for a fake mother!!" He raised his foot, and sent the Junior statue flying towards the other side of the room. The statue hit the wall, and fell to the floor. Peach looked back at the statue in horror, and then stared back at Ludwig.

"Bowser Jr. is in there?" Peach asked him, almost whispering.

"Where he belongs, yes. He, like his father, deserved no better fate than to be imprisoned by stone." Ludwig made one of his hands to a fist. "With those two out of the way, I was able to create an army that far surpassed your own army of mushrooms…and your special one as well," Peach didn't look at him, as she let the tears fall to the hard stone floor.

"…Mario…"

"He will eventually die…I'll make sure of that!!" And with that, the koopa marched out of the room, leaving both the statue and princess behind. Once he was gone, Peach couldn't control herself anymore, and the tears over her lost kingdom and lost friend began to fall. Junior, from his statue prison, only watched as his Mama Peach cried herself out.

…_mama…

* * *

_Mario shook his head as he stood up. Everything in the room was spinning, he could see green, brown, and even red, but couldn't tell which one was which. Shaking his head once more, Mario finally recovered his sight, and looked around. He noticed that he was in the forest, looking up at the many tall trees that surrounded him, no house nor koopa nearby. "Ah! You woke up, finally!" Mario quickly looked around, trying to spot the mysterious voice that had almost spooked him. "Hello! Mario mister! Up here!!" The red plumber looked up to see a small blue Yoshi floating towards him. **(2) **The young Yoshi landed swiftly near Mario, and the plumber noticed that the young Yoshi carried with him a bag full of fruit in his back. "Good morning! Good morning!!" he cried, cheerfully.

"Hello?" Mario told him, slightly confused of what was going on. He watched the young Yoshi set the fruit down, and he offered an apple to the plumber. Even though Mario was extremely hungry, he didn't take it, and instead looked at his surroundings confused, as if he had forgotten something. "Where are we?"

"We? In the outskirts of Mushroom Woods…you kinda fell from the sky on top of me, Mario mister…" The blue Yoshi told him, rubbing his back as if remembering the accident that took place a while ago. "You have been sleepy for the past two days, too." _Two days? _Mario thought, looking at the blue Yoshi as he ate an apple. Then, he remembered….the fight, Luigi…Ludwig…the invasion!!

"PEACH!! DAISY!!" Like thunder, Mario quickly left the blue Yoshi, and went straight towards the path that led to the Toad Town. The Yoshi quickly threw his fruit in the air, and followed behind the plumber.

"Wait! Mario mister! Going to Toad's Place is dangerous!!" Mario didn't hear the Yoshi's warning as he made his way towards Toad Town, but stopped in his tracks as he saw the devastation.

Most of the buildings were still burning since two days ago, the houses of some Toads were destroyed, and the small road that led to the Mushroom Castle was full of junk that belonged to the destroyed homes and shops of the Toads. In the middle of the road, many Toads were on cages, all crying out for someone to save them. Guarding the cages were a huge group of Bob-ombs walking around the cages. Everywhere Mario looked, the Bob-ombs were there, walking around the town like it was theirs. He could also see several koopas resting nearby, using the fallen remains of a house to sit on. His sight left the town, and he looked at the small castle in the distance. Peach's Castle was in no better condition than the town, it was a complete wreck. Most of the castle had been destroyed, some of the windows that once decorated it, missing. Even the princess's own mosaic was gone, the only thing that remain were parts of it. "…what…happened here?"

"Bad and evil Koopa King took over…" came a small voice behind him. The blue Yoshi had finally caught up with him, and was also looking at the remains of the Toad Town. "…he would have destroyed the town completely, had not lady princess Peach given up…then…bad King Koopa took her to his castle and left a bunch of Bombs here along with some koopas and a really big yellow bomb to guard the castle…from outsiders…or you…" Mario clenched his fist, as he looked around the place. He never thought that he'll put Peach's safety aside, but seeing all the destruction that Ludwig had caused, it was only right to help the fallen Toads. He looked back at the blue Yoshi.

"You…you think you could help me?" the blue Yoshi looked up.

"Eh?"

"I won't be able to save all this Toads without help," Mario told him, the blue Yoshi suddenly put his hands up in the air and shook them furiously.

"I know you are Mario, hero of the Mushroom Kingdom, mister…but, even you couldn't handle army of Bob-ombs! Going in there is just like asking a war to happen!!" Mario began to think the problem through…if he went inside the town all the Bob-ombs would be alerted and they will ex--_...that's it!! _

"I got it!" Suddenly, Mario jumped and ran towards the forest, away from the the blue Yoshi and the town. The Yoshi, confused by the plumber's sudden action, quickly followed after him.

* * *

Daisy groaned as she opened her eyes, her back still making her wince. She rubbed the back of her head as she inspected her surroundings, wondering why she was in some sort of cell room and not with Mario fighting the koopas. Her eyes then fell on a man that was leaning against the wall, looking back at her. Daisy sighed, glad to see Luigi in one piece, but then, she went over to look at him once more. This Luigi wore a black jumpsuit with some green stripes on it, he also wore a green bandanna on his neck, some part of his face was covered by a dark mask, and behind him a dark green cape. The princess gave a mental groan as she realized who was really standing before her was not the plumber, Luigi, but the enigmatic Mr. L, Luigi's evil persona.

"You're finally awake…" Mr. L said, walking towards the bed, were Daisy apparently lay. The princess sat up in bed and glared at Mr. L, the man looking slightly confused at the princess's action. "Are you…angry?" Daisy quickly stood up from bed, almost kicking Mr. L if he had not moved sooner.

"OF COURSE I AM!! How could you join that creep, and go as far as to hurt your own brother!?" Daisy cried, grabbing Mr. L's bandanna and pulling him closer. The man didn't even flinch at her screaming and instead shook his head.

"Ludwig gave me an offer I simply could not refuse." He explained, removing Daisy's hand from his bandanna and took her hand, only for her to slap his hand away with the other.

"And? That doesn't justify you hurting Mario!!"

"It doesn't? Do you know how many years I've lived in the shadow of my brother? How many years I stood on the sidelines and watched as **he** took the credit that was rightfully mine during his own adventures!? I was seen as Mario's brother…the shadow of a hero…the scared shadow of the hero! I simply got Mario out of my way…I want to get rid of him and show those fools how true of a hero I can be as well." Daisy and Mr. L looked at each other for a couple of seconds after Mr. L had stopped talking. The princess of Sarasaland raised a hand, and slapped Mr. L. The man was silent for a couple of seconds, before he smirked. "Touché."

"You're nothing but a jerk and an idiot!!" Daisy yelled, turning her back on him, making sure the man didn't see her rubbing the hand that had slapped him. This words seemed to surprise Mr. L, but whatever surprise he had in his face soon left him, and he only sighed and shook his head.

"Only he and I can understand this problem, princess…" Daisy turned to face him, her eyes already ready to let the tears fall.

"But, you can't do this to Mario! He's your brother…he won't understand what you feel unless you tell it to him!" Mr. L chuckled.

"How fun, princess…but I'm afraid that won't make any difference at all…and I will continue to pursue that man until I get rid of him."

"If…if you hurt Mario…I'll…I'll never forgive you!!" Mr. L only bowed and turned to leave the room.

"I won't stop, even if you don't forgive me, princess…" He opened the door of the room, and looked back at Daisy before stepping out. "Even if your hate surpasses your love, my feelings for you shall be the same." And he left, closing the door behind him. Once alone, Daisy sank to her knees, and put both hands on her face and cried.

_Why is this happening!? Why to my Luigi!? WHY!? Someone…please help him!! _

* * *

The blue Yoshi looked at Mario nervously as the plumber raised his hand in the air. He held a small rock in that hand, and it seemed the plumber was ready to throw it towards a group of Bob-ombs. "Okay, Aki," Mario called to the blue Yoshi, Aki, who walked towards him. "you know what you have to do, right?" Aki gulped.

"I think so…once…you, Mario mister, throw rock to bombs…they will all explode…and once that happens…I save Toads from cages and you take of enemies left behind, right?" Mario nodded.

"Yeah…sorry that I'm making you help me, though, Aki…but I will repay some day," Aki nodded as he shook all over, looking at the rock that Mario held. "You ready?" he asked the blue Yoshi.

"No…"

"Me neither." And then, Mario threw the rock.

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**Some things to sort out!**

**1-When Ludwig talked about Bowser giving privileges to Peach, i was talking about the letters she always managed to send Mario while she was kidnapped(if she was kidnapped while she sent them, that is!)**

**2-If you have played Smash Bros. series, you probably know about Yoshi's ability to float in mid air for a while, when he is kicking his feet. **

Next chapter will introduce a new and powerful enemy, and a new form of...wait I can't tell you that! That would spoil the next chapter! The new enemy has a lot to do with the yellow Bob-omb that Aki mentioned earlier...I do hope this chapter didnt seemed so rushed, though...but please let me know if it felt like it!

Hope you review!! See you next time!


	10. Chapter 10

Fyras14: Hi, again, everyone…sigh…my internet just doesn't like me…I feared that I wouldn't be able to update today, as the internet doesn't work…good thing that I have to computers, or else you guys would have waited almost a whole week before I could update again.

Putting my internet problems aside, this chapter will introduce a new enemy, as well as a…weapon, if you will.

Please read and review, or criticize, whichever comes first!

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"_You can have power over people as long as you don't take everything from them. but when you've robbed a man of everything, he's no longer in your power." _

**-Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn **

**Chapter 10: An Explosive Encounter, One Evil Mind**

Mario took a deep breath as he let the rock fly. He and Aki held their breaths as the rock made its way towards one of the nearby Bob-ombs, who was oblivious to the small projectile that went its way. Everything was calm…until the projectile hit its target. The small bomb jumped in the air, lit its fuse, and then, once in the ground began to ran around like crazy. Their koopa caretakers were busy talking to each other to notice the panicked bomb, while the Toads quickly covered their heads, as the bomb stopped in the middle of a group of Bob-ombs, before….**BOOOOOM!!! **The koopas and some of the cages were thrown aside, as a group of bombs exploded. This group was quickly followed by another, exploding and destroying the small town more than it already was.

Mario nodded at Aki, as the blue Yoshi made its way towards some of the cages. The red plumber himself got out of his hiding place, and went over towards the koopas, who were more worried about the bombs exploding nearby. One, however, cried out as soon as he saw Mario. "There he is!! Mario is here!! Everyone in position!!" The koopa was only able to sent this small warning before he was kicked in the jaw by the plumber. This sent the koopa backwards, making him hide in his green shell. The other koopas looked back at the man before them, wide eyed, as if they were seeing a ghost. Mario didn't give the koopas to react, however, and quickly kicked the shell near his fit, hitting one of the koopas in the chest. It sent the koopa flying, and the shell that Mario had used to attack him, broke into a million of pieces, revealing the knocked out koopa from within.

One of the koopas took out a hammer, and threw it at Mario. He easily evaded his attack, and then, his hand glowed red. He put both his hands together and released a great fireball, hitting the two koopas that were on his way.**(1)** A couple of seconds later, all that remained of the Hammer Bros. were their shells, that were burnt to the crisp. A paratroopa in the group flew away, only to be hit by one of the crisped shells that Mario threw towards it. It fell face down, knocked out like the other koopas before him. Noticing that all the koopas were out of the way, Mario looked nearby. The group of bombs not done with exploding. He also smiled when he saw a group of Toads go towards the nearby forest for safety. Aki had done his job, just like the Yoshi said he would. The plumber looked back at the fallen castle before him, remembering what Aki said of some 'big yellow bomb', the guarded it. Mario looked back at the exploding parade before he went running towards the castle.

The plumber wasn't able to reach the castle at all, when a voice called out. **"Bri…bri…bri…BROOM!! BROOM!! Hehehehe!!" **Mario glanced up, and quickly moved out of the way, as a huge yellow Bob-omb made its way down, almost crushing the small plumber. Mario looked up at his huge foe. This was a yellow, almost golden, colored Bob-omb. However, while the shape was the same there was something odd and even scary about the Bob-omb that stood in front of the plumber. Like its smaller 'friends', this Bob-omb also had eyes, except that they were x shaped like eyes, accompanied by a rather wicked mouth, that seemed to belonged to a pumpkin. Instead of having a fuse, it had two. And the most incredible change all of all was the fact that it didn't have feet, but in their place was a spring.

"What…in the world?" Mario muttered, as he watched the yellow Bob-omb jump in the air.

"**Bri…bri…broom!! Broom!! Hehehehe!!" **cried the yellow Bob-omb as it came back down, making the world below it shake. Mario almost lost his footing, but jumped and looked back at the rather crazy bomb before it. How was he going to fight a bomb that jumped? Mario went for his options, first. This was a bomb…it could blue up at any given moment, even when the fuse wasn't lit. But, he could carry a bomb this size, no? He after all, had carried a bomb almost this yellow bomb's size before. **(2) **Mario took a deep breath, and ran towards the bomb, hands extended. The yellow bomb had barely noticed the plumber had moved at all, and stayed still.

The plumber went to grab the bomb…. "AIIIIHAAA!!" Mario quickly took his hands away from the yellow bomb's huge body, and jumped away. He shook his hands wildly, as he stared back at the bomb. Touching the bomb's body had sent shocks all throughout the plumber's body, had not Mario removed his hands quickly, the bomb would have had a chance to squash him like a bug while he was paralyzed.

"**Bri…bri!! Hehehehe!!" **While Mario was busy shaking his hands, the yellow Bob-omb had turned to face him again, giving him a wicked smile. The plumber quickly recovered, with his hands glowing red, he sent a group of fireballs his way. The fireballs hit its target, only to fall back to the ground and turn to nothing. Mario quickly moved out of the way, as the yellow bomb opened its mouth and tried to eat him. **"BRIIII!!! BROOMM!! Hehehehehe!!" **The plumber ran around the huge yellow Bob-omb, trying to find a weak spot, a crack in its armor, or even a way to blow it up. As he ran, he noticed that some of the Toads were pointing frantically towards a pair of Bob-ombs, that only stared at Mario as he ran around the yellow bomb.

Behind the plumber, the yellow bomb jumped to catch up to its prey, still smiling like some sort of maniac. Mario glanced behind him, trying to run away from the jumping bomb, in order to think of a plan. _What do I do!? I can't touch this thing, much less burn it!! So, what do I…wait, a minute! _He looked back at the Toads, who still pointed miserably at the bombs, and then, Mario knew what to do. **(3) **He made his way towards the immobilize Bob-ombs, with the yellow Bob-omb hopping closely behind. When he was closed to the bombs, he jumped and caught one of them, then he turned to the huge yellow Bob-omb as it made its way towards him, mouth opened wide. _I hope this works…_Mario then threw the bomb towards the other bigger bomb's opened mouth. Once the bomb fell inside the yellow Bob-omb's mouth, the huge monster closed its mouth, and then, began to jump like crazy as its two fuses lit up. The yellow bomb gave two, three, four hops, before the bomb inside of it, exploded. Then, it went back down, its two fuses were not lit, once again.

Mario gasped as he inspected the damage; the bomb had only managed to crack its yellow armor. It looked back at Mario before it jumped once again, and the plumber turned back to grab the bomb that remained nearby. He wasn't able to reach the bomb on time, as the yellow Bob-omb crushed it under its spring, making the small Bob-omb explode. **"BRRRIIIIII!! BRIIII!! BROOOM!! BROOOMMM!! Hehehehehe!!" **Mario, quickly, rolled out of the way, as the bomb began to chase him, threatening to squash him as it jumped. The plumber looked around the area, trying to spot a live Bob-omb walking nearby. He spotted none. _Now I'm beginning to think that getting rid of the Bob-ombs around here wasn't such a good idea!_

Mario tried running towards the castle, wanting to use what remained of it, for cover. He barely reached the castle steps, before the yellow Bob-omb landed in front of him, giving him that sickly grin. The plumber took a couple of steps back, and began to run away once more, convinced that that bomb wasn't going to let him go anywhere near the castle, that meant no protection and a sudden death. He kept on running, and then, he saw it. A small bomb was still walking nearby, oblivious to the fight that was taking place in front of him. Mario only prayed that the yellow bomb had not seen the bomb, and he ran towards it. The yellow bomb happened to notice its smaller brother, and quickly jumped in the air, wanting to take care of Mario's only hope for survival. Mario ran, the yellow Bob-omb made its way down, and then… "Off!!" Mario grabbed the small bomb with his hands, and rolled out of the way as the yellow bomb slammed its body towards the ground.

"**BRIIII!! BROOOMM!!" **It cried, opening its mouth wide. First mistake. Mario, quickly saw this, and threw the ticking bomb towards it. The yellow Bob-omb had little time to close its mouth, as the smaller bomb entered its huge mouth. Closing it, the bomb lit its two fuses, and began to jump like crazy. After a couple of jumps, the bomb that it had eaten exploded. Instead of exploding, as Mario had expected, this bomb began to crack. Every part of its body began to slowly rip open, and then, it fell to the ground, part of it cut in half, slowly decaying. Mario made his way, slowly towards the remains of his opponent, keeping his guard up.

"…that thing wasn't a normal bomb," he muttered as he walked towards it. "…but, it wasn't a machine either, just what was it that--" Mario didn't get to finish, as he gasped of what he saw leaving the remains of the yellow Bob-omb's body.

The star, unlike some of the other stars Mario had seen, was black in color. It had the same face that those other stars showed, but, instead of the neutral stare, this star showed a glare. The shadow star floated in the air for a couple of seconds, before it then, exploded into millions of pieces, forever to be forgotten. It took Mario a few minutes to finally recover his voice. "What…was that?" And then, just as the star before him, the remains of the yellow Bob-omb, too, were destroyed.

* * *

"I don't know how to thank you, properly, Ludwig," Mr. L told the koopa, as both walked down the dark halls of the Koopa Fortress. Ludwig shook his head, smiling at the plumber.

"It was nothing science couldn't fix," the koopa explained. Both of them stopped in front of a door, that Mr. L opened and both he and the koopa entered the room.

King Bowser's throne room had remained largely the same, from the exception of the huge Bowser statue that decorated the place from the corner. Ludwig made his way towards the throne, followed closely behind by Mr. L. "A matter of science, indeed…but still, I can't thank you enough." Ludwig nodded at the man, as he sat in his throne.

"Well, the thanking aside, friend…what do you plan on doing about Mario? He still must be alive…my hammer is nothing compared to your thunder, and I doubt he perished when I hit him."

"He, still, is my rival…I plan to eventually eliminate him, yet, I feel that I owe you my services, seeing as you saved the princess from her malady, so if you would be so kind, Koopa King, as to accept my services as payment for your help in returning Daisy to her former self as my thanks." Ludwig waved his hand at the bowing man before him.

"There is no need, really," he told him. "but, if you wish to repay me that way, then, do s--"

"BROTHER!!" The koopa and the plumber turned to find Wendy O., already red with rage. The young koopa glared daggers at Ludwig, as she slowly walked towards her older brother and boss. "Ludwig, how could you!? I told you specifically, that I wanted that Peach's Castle as my own, why did you blew it up!?" Ludwig shook his head, as if embarrassed, and gave Wendy O. a rather mocking, yet ashamed look.

"Do forgive me, dear sister…the princess, wasn't taking too kindly to my 'invasion'…I was forced to use…well, force. And as you can see, the end result…"

"End result!? You practically shattered that castle in two!! But, but I told you!!" Wendy O. cried, stomping her feet on the ground like some sort of spoiled child. "I WANTED THAT CASTLE!!! WHY DIDN'T YOU LISTEN!?"

"Keep on complaining, sister, and I will see you fit for the dungeons." Ludwig said, his voice taking a commanding tone. Wendy O. stopped her spoiled act immediately, and grumbled.

"But, I wanted a castle…"

"Quiet! Leave before I change my mind!" Wendy O. didn't say nothing, as she left the room. After she was gone, Mr. L turned to Ludwig.

"I…I do dare say, that this sister of yours is no lady, rather, she's a dragon dressed in a tutu!" Ludwig sighed, and nodded back at the plumber.

"Tell me about it. And now, my friend, we were talking about your services, y--" Ludwig couldn't finished, as someone interrupted their conversation. "Sister, I already told you that--"

"Sir!! Master Ludwig!!" Ludwig quickly turned to face the red shelled koopa that stood in front of him, shaking all over.

"What is it?" Ludwig asked his servant.

"Mario, sir!" At the mentioned of the red plumber's name, Mr. L's eyes seemed to flash dangerously, making the red shelled koopa gulp. "He…he defeated Golden-bomb, sir!!**(4)** And not only did he defeat Golden-bomb, but also the army of Bob-ombs and the koopa scouts that were sent to guard the fallen town and castle!!"

"Do you know Mario's whereabouts?" Ludwig asked calmly, after the red shelled koopa finished speaking.

"He…he is heading towards Knut-Nut Harbor, sir…straight towards the fortress…" Ludwig stood silent for a couple of minutes, before he dismissed the koopa messenger.

"…Leave." The red shelled koopa bowed, and left the room as quickly as he had gotten in. _I put to much hope in that invention of mine…even a Bob-omb corrupted by star power wasn't able to take care of Mario! I must work on the Shadow Stars power more…the last thing I want is for my whole operation to fall apart. _

"Ludwig, Koopa King," Mr. L called, shaking Ludwig from his thoughts. "Allow me to go and fetch that man, for not only those he deserve to suffer the cruelest death, but also to pay back for what he did to a beautiful lady." Ludwig looked at Mr. L for a while, and then, something clicked. He then, shook his head at the plumber.

"No, that would be asking too much on my part…allow me to send one of my brothers to take care of this mess. He will be knocked out and brought here, and you, my friend will be able to continue your duel with that despicable man." Ludwig jumped out of his throne, and nodded at Mr. L. He then, turned to leave, muttering something so low, that Mr. L couldn't hear him. "….Roy will really enjoy seeing Mario again…oh, he will indeed."

**

* * *

**

Some things to sort out, first!:

**1-Consider this attack a powered up, fireball attack...**

**2-You guys remember that very first level in Super Mario 64, right? You get your first star after beating a huge Bob-omb in a platform…it gave me headaches just to climb up there.**

**3-I always thought Mario as a slow thinker, its not like he would have known how to defeat that big bomb from the start. **

**4-Golden-bomb, if you haven't already guessed, is the name of the yellow bomb that Mario fought earlier in the chapter. **

Well, if my internet keeps on having problems I might not update for a while, but don't worry, I will probably have the chapters I want to post already done! Hope you leave a review!

Edit-My internet has returned! Maybe, the updates might come sooner!


	11. Chapter 11

Fyras14: Hello, everyone! My internet is back to normal, and I'm happy to say that this chapter turned out to be longer than expected! Lucky you!

This chapter, if I may point out, will explain in debt why Ludwig did what he did, so play close attention!

Anyway, I hope you all read and review, or criticize, whichever comes first.

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"_When the heart weeps for what is lost, the spirit laughs for what it has found."_

**-Sufi Aphorism**

**Chapter 11: A Koopa Made of Stone**

"Thank you, Mario! Thank you!" Mario smiled at the group of Toads that shook both of his hands frantically, crying out of pure joy. After defeating the mysterious yellow Bob-omb, Mario had quickly spotted the Toads, who all cheered for their hero, with them, Aki.

"You're welcome," the plumber told him, trying to kindly remove their hands from his own hands. He managed it without delay, and then the Toads started to bow to him, frantically….again.

"Oh! Mario! Mario!!" The Toads cried in unison. "Please! Please, you must save the princess from the evil Koopa King!!"

"Don't worry, I'll take care of him." Mario told him, his voice betraying confidence and doubt. Could he really beat him, really? After Ludwig's hammer had struck him, poor Mario had been forced to endure never ending pain and a few destroyed back teeth. While he was thinking about defeating Ludwig, Aki came to his side and tapped his shoulder.

"Mario mister?" he asked. The plumber turned to face the Yoshi, smiling from ear to ear.

"Ah! Aki!...Thanks for the help!"

"No problem, Mario mister…although I wish I could give you more help…" Aki turned to look at his legs, both were bruised. Poor Aki had met a bomb to soon in his dinosaur lifetime, had not the Toads dragged him before the bomb could explode, he wouldn't not only have injured legs but a whole body to worry about.

"Don't worry about it," Mario told him. "besides, the last thing I want is to drag you or anyone else to danger." He turned to the Toads. "Now, are you sure you are going to be alright here all by yourselves?" One of the Toads, the leader of the small band of Mushrooms, Mario presumed, took a step forward.

"Do not worry, Mr. Hero," the Toad told him. "We shall take care of ourselves just fine. We doubt the Koopa King will sent more forces our way, and if he does, we can always use the cannons in the area to take care of them." The plumber nodded once more towards the Toads and Aki, and turned to leave, quickly running towards the forest nearby. Behind him, the cries of many Toads filled his ears.

"Be careful!!"

"Kick big Koopa's bottom!!"

"Yeah!!"

"Have a safe trip, if you can, Mario mister!!"

"Please save the princess!!" As Mario ran, his face turned determined. _Peach isn't the only person I need to save…Daisy, Luigi…please be safe.

* * *

_

Junior watched from his stone prison as his Mama Peach slept. After crying to nobody in particular, the Mushroom Princess had fallen to floor. Panicked at first, Junior could barely hear Peach's soft breathing, and sighed in relief when he saw that his Mama was just having a snooze, seemingly tired by her encounter with Ludwig and what happened in her castle…especially worried about Mario.

Junior sighed as he thought about Mario. He, like his father, had began to hate the man, but now, the plumber was the only one that could save his Mama from the misery that she was suffering and free his Papa from his prison and his traitorous son. The young koopa wondered where it all went wrong, what had he and his father done to cause Ludwig to turn into the koopa that he was now. Sure, it was true that his father paid more attention to the youngest of his sons, but everyone knew that Bowser loved his children all the same, and if he spent more time with a certain child, was because he wanted to share as much time as possible with them…even if it seemed to last for years to the others. Roy, the third oldest of the Koopalings, explained to Junior one day that Bowser could be pretty demanding, and at times would ignore any of his children if they did something wrong, or failed in certain aspects. Being ignored by the Koopa King, Roy had said, was not as bad as going to the dungeons, but it still left you feeling bad. Like Junior, all of his brothers and sister had spent a lot of time with the Koopa King as well. Roy spent at least a year with him, before Bowser switched to Iggy, and then, another year then to Wendy O. and then, so on. The third oldest of his brothers had explained to a young Junior, that when Ludwig was born, Bowser spent more than five years with the oldest of the koopalings, teaching him many things and treating him like one of a kind. After the other koopalings were born, however, Bowser spent less and less time with his first son, and Ludwig became independent, still willing to serve his father, however.

Then, Roy told him something the young koopa had never forgotten. "Something broke inside Ludwig," Roy had said. "something so precious you can't buy at the stores and such…he began to go against father's orders and such, doing as he pleased…but, sometimes, he would listen to father's mouth and sometimes not. He also became easily angered, and those that received more attention than him were his main targets…be lucky you didn't get to experience what we had, or else, you would have a bruised shell and a broken neck…you sure got lucky, little koopa bro!" Junior now began to wonder if this attempt to take over the Koopa Kingdom and also Mushroom Kingdom was just Ludwig's way to get attention. Oh, how wrong he was.

Ludwig felt so alone in the world, and Bowser never saw that coming. Thinking back, Junior now understood what Roy had meant about spending quality time with his children. It was to prepare them to the inevitable, a time when their father would no longer walk the kingdom and be with them. Apparently, Ludwig had misunderstood that, and now, he was a worse dictator than his father…driven by jealously and hate that it would make even Bowser cry.

As he was thinking about his brother, something caught the corner of the young stoned koopa's eye. Princess Peach was getting up from the floor, looking around the room, in some sort of confusion. Junior could feel his heart jumping with joy as he saw his Mama finally awaken. **(1) **At first, the princess only looked around the chamber were she was imprisoned in. She examined every corner of her prison before her eyes turned towards the koopa's statue. Peach's eyes suddenly sparkled again, and she slowly walked towards the statue, finally finding her long lost voice. "Junior…are…are you there?"

_Yeah…_**(2) **Peach suddenly smiled, patting the young koopa's stony head, gently. Even though both Junior and his father had kidnapped her on a number of occasions, both had treated her with love and respect that she deserved. Well, on Bowser's case, more love than respect. _Sorry…Mama Peach…_Junior apologized, already he was sobbing, even though Peach couldn't see.

"Why are you apologizing for?" Peach asked him, sitting besides the small statue. "It isn't your fault this is happening…"

_I know…but, Ludwig…we could stop him…me and Papa…but, we never had the chance…_

"Oh, little one, don't worry about it…please, don't…" Peach told him, hugging the small statue a bit, in an effort to comfort the small koopa. "…what happen to your father?" she asked him gently, after a while.

_He…he is just like me right now, _Junior told her, sniffing a bit. _Ludwig put it in his throne room…as a trophy…when the other koopas had found out about Bowser's fall, they had no choice but to listen to Ludwig…of course, some of the Koopa Troops soldiers rebelled, at least that's what Kamek managed to tell me before he was turned to stone…my other brothers, except Wendy, were also turned to stone, too…_

"I see…but…how is this possible? From what I know**(3)**, Ludwig is an inventor not a wizard…he couldn't have turned the koopas, much less Bowser to stone."

_Ludwig found a way to use the star power, Mama…he created some strange hammer and some crystal balls that are able to turn all that touch it to stone. _Peach gasped in surprise.

"Impossible!" the princess cried. "The Star Power is never meant to hurt…its power is pure…unless he found a way to taint it?" She could hear Junior sigh, not knowing what to say.

It was a known fact that the Star Power was a pure living being, that offered power or protection to those that could wield it.**(4) **Bowser had stolen the Stars from Peach's castle numerous times in order to achieve power beyond imagination. He had failed miserably, after Mario found the many stars he had hidden in many worlds with his henchmen, the koopa's power soon began to leave him, and then, both he and Mario engaged in a terrible fight, with the plumber ending as the winner. Whether it be in paintings, different lands, or in space, the Star Power would always give out both power and protection. Someone that could corrupt their power to destroy was beyond Peach's own imagination.

_I don't know, Mama…_Junior told her after a while. _What I know is that he is using the star's power to destroy, and even manipulate the Boos! _

"The Boos?"

_Yeah…the King of Boos was also part of the rebellion against Ludwig…and he fell…just like the other koopas that followed him. _Peach opened her mouth to speak, when suddenly the door of the dungeon flew open and Daisy was pushed inside. She hit the floor, and then turned to glare at the two koopas that had dragged her towards the tower.

"Hey!! Watch it you filthy nut shells!!" The koopas paid no attention to the fallen princess, and closed the door.

"Daisy!" The princess of Sarasaland, quickly turned to see the Mushroom princess, who ran to aid her friend.

"Peach! Thank goodness that you are alright!" Peach helped Daisy up, and the two friends hugged each other.

"Oh, Daisy! Its good to see another friend in this place!" Both friends separated, and the flower princess looked around.

"I'm glad to see you, too. Although I just wish I could remember how I got here…"

"You…weren't kidnapped?"

"Of course not, at least, I thought so before I ended up here." Daisy told her, crossing both her arms across her chest. "Me and Mario went to go help you…and then…" Her face turned to face the ground, as if struggling to hide the tears that would eventually hit the floor. "…Luigi showed up…he was helping…that Ludwig guy…" Peach covered her mouth with a hand, her eyes wide with shock.

"What?"

"L-Ludwig managed to convince Luigi on his side…he and Mario fought…and then…I…I tried to bring Luigi back, but I couldn't…" Peach patted the other princess's shoulder, as if understand what she was going through.

"Don't worry…he'll get out of this mess…and we will help him…" Before Daisy could respond, someone else beat her to it.

_L-Luigi joined my older brother?

* * *

_

Ludwig grinned as he stared at the statue of Roy, who could only look back at him. The hatred visible in his stoned eyes. _You bastard!! Get me out of here!! You pathetic, idiot, moron, etc.!! _Ludwig laughed at his younger brother's desperation.

"I'm completely surprised, that you and Junior, managed to survive being completely petrified. **(5) **I never thought your will would be this…strong."

_Ha! You really thought me and Junior were that weak!? You listen to me, bastard! You hurt a hair on dad, my brothers, or Peach you will really regret it!! _The older brother gave a heartily laugh, as if had just heard a good joke.

"I'm surprise you care more about your siblings, father, and a mere stranger that had the unfortunate fortune to be loved by the King of Koopas. Do you care about your family that much that you would die for them? You can easily switch sides like Wendy did, to avoid a possible confrontation and death…" It was Roy's turn to laugh at his brother's words.

_You think I would put my family aside just to join you, bah, like I will! I understood one day that it was my family that mattered the most than taking over kingdoms, kidnapping princesses, and even fighting Mario!! My family matters a hundred times more than the power that you are offering me! Dad would go against you any day to make sure his family was not hurt._

"Ha! Now, you are joking again, dear brother…Bowser could easily discard you out of his deck if he no longer saw you worthy."

_Ha! You say that like if you knew better! Bowser loves his children a lot, he wouldn't just stand still and wait for his children to fall down some abyss! _Ludwig suddenly turned his back on Roy, as if thinking about what he said, then, he started to laugh.

"Hahahaha…and to think I thought you were but a fool, Roy…'Abyss?' Have you been reading the dictionary while I wasn't looking?" he mocked him. He turned to look back at the stoned koopa, who was shaking slowly, as if trying to free himself from his rocky prison. "Ah, and to think I could get you to see the errors of your thinking, it seems I was wrong…" Ludwig raised a hand in the air, and pointed a finger at the stoned koopa. From his finger, a small ball of light formed, and then, the ball of light floated towards the koopa statue.

_What the heck is this? _Roy asked, as the ball of light began to circle around him.

"This is, your torment…" Ludwig then snapped his fingers, and the ball of light glowed brightly and then, transformed into a black Power Star.

_A…power star? Ludwig…what did you do? _

"You will find out, eventually, dear brother…" The Shadow Star, then, entered Roy's stone body. After a couple of seconds, the statue began to shake, and crack. Ludwig walked backwards, watching in amazement at what the star's power did to his younger brother.

Roy could move once more, but he was still the color of stone. Then, he gave an unknown cry, as he began to transform. He grew, at least a couple of inches more. His face turned more reptilian like some sort of ancient and monstrous dinosaur. The koopa's claws grew larger as well, and even Roy's tail grew to the length of a cat's own. From the koopa's shell, appeared two ugly wings, that had cracked opened Roy's shell to get out. Ludwig looked back at his brother, his eyes sparkling with fascination, as the transformation concluded. The koopa snapped his fingers, catching the monster's attention.

"Find Mario, bring him to me…now!" The monster nodded its head, understanding, and then, flew out of the small tower, roaring as it clashed against the clouds. Ludwig soon laughed, and shook his head. "…he won't be the only one that I'll be taking care of."

* * *

Mario ran as fast as he could through the forest, watching out for any enemy that dare get in his way. The plumber had been extremely surprised, and a bit shocked, that Ludwig had not even bothered to guard the way to Knut-Nut Harbor. Knut-Nut Harbor was the only way to go towards the Koopa King's Castle, and whenever Bowser managed to kidnapped the princess, he would always have the forest and harbor well guarded in order to ensure that Mario never got to his castle.

While he was concerned of what Ludwig was planning, the plumber's mind wondered back to his fight against that yellow Bob-omb and that black star that had suddenly sprouted from its body. Mario wondered what Ludwig had done to that poor Star, and shivered at the thought. He stared at the road, in the distance, he could spot the harbor nearby. As he moved closer, though, he suddenly stopped. Mario looked around. _What was that? _The noise became louder, and then, the plumber looked up, spotting a strange looking koopa flying towards him. "I…get the feeling…Ludwig was expecting me to use this road after all…" From the skies, the monstrous koopa fell to the ground, mouth opened.

"**GGGYYYYYAAAAAAAARGGGGGHHHH!!!"

* * *

Things to point out, first!!  
**

**1-While it is true that Peach is not Junior's real mother, I have read that he still continues to call her 'Mama' even though she is not, so, in case I got that one wrong, feel free to correct me.**

**2-I did state earlier that italics would be used to indicate thoughts, if I remember correctly, here however, Junior and Roy, are using their minds to speak, so technically it could be considered a thought(I kinda forgot about the thoughts and italics thing after I wrote that chapter when Junior was turned to stone and was too lazy to change it)**

**3-Peach gets kidnapped all the time, that it wouldn't be a surprise if she knew all about the koopalings, and their father.**

**4-Here is another thing to explain...you see, in some of the Mario games(in the ones that you have to collect stars)the Power Stars, I believe, act as some sort of Power Source for Bowser or for something else(like that strange tower with the huge star in Isle Delfino). A Starman(another form of a Star), protects however is lucky to find it. In my story, the Power Stars play both parts, to give power and protection to those that wield it.**

**5-Here, Ludwig explains that he didnt expect his brothers, or any of the other koopas and people(Daisy) he turned to stone to survivie their petrification(ability to speak, see, etc. while in stone form). As Ludwig then says, their wills were great enough to resist the power that had turned them to stone. **

After a rather long author's note...this is were the chapter ends, just this one! Expect a new update soon, introducing an old enemy of Luigi's(you guys get an extra update next week if you guess who!) and adding a new main character and companion to Mario to the mix!

Please review!


	12. Chapter 12

Fyras14: Hello, everyone! I couldn't sleep, and so, I dedicated two hours of midnight to do this chapter, hope you enjoy! Well, I guess you guys got the foe, well, at least someone did ;), but, you'll still get that extra update...I'm almost half way done, here!

Please, read and review, or criticize, whichever comes first.

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"_Life is like a game of cards. The hand you are dealt is determinism; the way you play it is free will."_

**-Jawaharial Nehru**

**Chapter 12: A King, A Koopa, and A Plumber**

It was mere luck that saved Mario from being eaten by the ferocious unknown koopa beast. The plumber rolled out of the way, watching the creature crash against the ground, and then go up again using its ugly wings, cracking its shell even more as they moved. _Could it be? _the plumber thought as he ducked from another attack. _A koopa turned wild by one of those…shadow stars? _Mario shuddered at the thought. Never in all his time fighting the Koopa King, had he seen Bowser experiment on his own men. Yeah, he'll probably give them a good burn in their behind if they didn't beat Mario silly, but Bowser would never do this to one of his own loyal men. Had Ludwig gone so far to use some koopas from his own army as experiments and send them to battle, just for them to get killed?

The best crashed against Mario, sending the poor plumber against a tree. Mario groaned, and quickly recovered, moving quickly out of the way before the koopa beast could take a bite out of him. Seeing that its attack failed, the koopa took to the skies again, flying around Mario like some sort of vulture. _I can't attack that one if he keeps on flying…if only I hadn't wasted my only P-Wing_**(1)**_ this fight would be easier…_He dodge another head butt from the beast, and got up. The plumber looked at the creature's wings…they seemed so, delicate…maybe he could? Mario's hand glowed red, and suddenly, he sent a small fireball towards the rampaging beast that was heading straight towards him. The plumber didn't bother moving at until he saw the fireball hit its target. One of the creature's wings was set ablaze, distracting the beast from its prey, and sending it crashing to the opposite side from were Mario stood. _Yes, it worked!! _As soon as the fire had died down, the wing was so burned up, it couldn't be used to fly anymore.

The monster tried to take the air. Once, twice. But, with only one wing carrying its big body, it wasn't enough. It turned back at Mario and growled, a rather uncomfortable growl that almost sent goose bumps. The creature, then, hid on its cracking shell, the only thing that it didn't bother to hide was its large tail. Before Mario could react, however, the shell quickly began to spin, and it hit him, one time, two times, three!! "AHHHHYYAAAAHHAHAHA!!" Mario yelped in pain as he was hit by the hard shell that seemed to be made of stone. Once it had finished hitting Mario, the shell stopped spinning, and then, it slowly began again. Taking this as a chance, the plumber quickly grabbed the monster's tail, the only part of the koopa beast that had not been hid, and held unto it. The creature tried to spin, but Mario held it down, hard. With the strength of ten men, Mario quickly spun himself**(2)**, and then, once he gained speed, let go of the monster's tail. The plumber looked on, as the koopa beast slammed against a nearby tree, taking it down with it full force.

"**GYAAAHHHH! GYAAHHHH!!" **He could hear the koopa beast cry out. Suddenly, he watched as the creature got out of its shell, visibly angry at what Mario had done to him. It walked up towards Mario, and then, it opened its mouth, releasing a great ball of fire, with a pink shade to it. Mario quickly rolled away, he glanced back and noticed that the ball of fire had only exploded once it made contact with the ground. The plumber quickly looked up, the koopa beast preparing to send a new fire ball soon. Mario's two hands began to glow, and quickly, sent out two small fireballs, hitting the creature on the head. This distracted the koopa beast enough to allow Mario to make his move. Getting behind the monster, the plumber grabbed its tail, and spun him around. One turn, two, and then, he let go! The creature crashed against the tree, groaning in pain. **"…gyahhh….gyahhh…" **It cried weakly as its made its way to the floor. The koopa beast tried to get up, but it failed, falling back down.

Mario approached the creature slowly, and then gasped as the creature suddenly began to glow. Its head turned smaller, more normal, it shrank in size, as well as its tail. The large claws that only had been for show also shrank to a smaller size. The ugly wings that adorned its cracking shell slowly fell off, turning to ashes once they hit the floor. Soon, a black Star got out from the koopa's body, and then, it exploded like it had done before. Mario looked down and gave a gasp.

Roy Koopa was unconscious in the same place that koopa beast had once stood.

* * *

_**Luigi didn't know were to hide in this darkness, as the many Marios approached him. The green plumber had only began to explore his surroundings in this dark corner of his head, when suddenly his brother began to appear…Mario appeared again, and then, after that another Mario. Luigi shook all over as the Marios surrounded him, all raising their fists and trying to hit him, but Luigi was quick to evade them all. **_

"_**Ma-mario! Wh-why are yo-you attacking m-me!?" Luigi cried, as he evaded another barrage of punches. All the Marios laughed, shaking their head back at the younger Mario Brother. **_

"_**Because we can," they told him, catching him off guard and hitting him hard on the chest. That sent him to the ground, and now, all the Marios surrounded him, kicking him. **_

"_**W-why, Mario? Wh-what did I do t-to you?" **_

"_**We don't need a shadow to follow us around!" They cried, hitting him again. "We would rather get rid of it, no longer tormented by its failures!!" Luigi resisted the argue to cry. So, his brother hated him after all? In this darkness, where he was suppose to be safe, he was injured by his brother all the way? **_

"_**Well, I don't need you!!" cried another one, using Luigi's voice as it did. Luigi looked up, spotting that lighter colored Luigi from his other dream. This Luigi easily took care of the Marios, taking them down with some sort of electrical punch. "Take this, and that!! If I'm the shadow, why am I so powerful!? Pathetic, you all are!! All of you!!" All the Marios began to disappear, and then, none stood standing. Before Luigi could do anything, however, the person that he so longed to see walked into the shadow alley, and faced that other Luigi. Then, she slapped him. **_

"_**MONSTER!! HOW COULD YOU!?" No…not Daisy, too…why? Why did his brother take everything he loved…why…then, her sweet voice filled the air. **_

"_**I'm sure he'll understand your problem and help you fix it. In fact, I might probably give a hand along with Peach!" She cried. "We'll talk to Mario, you and me!!"**_**(3)**

Mr. L woke up, breathing fast as he did. He looked around, noticing that he had merely fallen asleep in one of the chairs, in one of the many dungeons that served as rooms. The plumber put a hand over his forehead, and noticed that he was sweating. "Foolishness…" he muttered, as he cleaned the sweat. "How can I be afraid of simple dreams? They are not reality, just dreams…" Mr. L left the chair he was sitting on, and turned to leave the room, however, a ghastly voice caught his ears.

"So, the little brother is here? What a wonderful surprise!" Mr. L turned to face his foe, a foe long dead, yet still living. "I have missed you…Hehehehehe!!" The ghost lounged quickly at Mr. L, making the plumber shake his head at him.

"What a fool…" And soon, he too, attacked the King of Boos.

* * *

Roy opened his eyes, the sun glaring madly on top of him. Everything was spinning. _What the heck happened? Someone cracked the shell on the wrong side, or what? _the koopa thought as it scratched its head.

"Are you okay, Roy?" called some voice from somewhere. Roy looked around, everything was blurry.

"Huh?"

"Are you okay?" repeated that friendly, yet strange voice from somewhere.

"I…I think," Roy told the stranger. He felt a hand grab his one claw, and he felt himself be lifted.

"Come on, sit down here…" Roy did as the voice told him, his world beginning to take shape. There was green, brown, blue sky, red sun, and a plumber in front of him. Wait…a plumber!? Roy, finally freed from his vertigo prison, almost jumped when he saw the face of Mario staring at him worriedly.

"What the shell, man!?**(4)** What are ya doing here!? Where am I? Where are we? Where…" Roy's sudden barrage of questions stopped. He remembered. Ludwig, that sneaky bastard. He had done something to him, and it seemed pretty bad if that plumber, Mario was concerned. "BASTARD, LUDWIG!! That damn bastard!! He'll pay, you hear me!? I'll make him pay, I'll give the bastard the chance of a lifetime…the chance of going to the hospital for life!!" Mario raised his hands, trying to calm the koopa down.

"Roy, come on, take it easy." **(5) **Roy glared back at him, still red with anger.

"How can I take it easy, when that bastard, Ludwig is running 'round some damn mountain and throwing bombs at everyone he sees!! He's going to make everything go, BOMB!! We gotta stop him!!" Mario unconsciously raised an eyebrow when Roy mentioned, 'we', was he asking him to… "Hey, plumber guy, help me out, will ya?"

"What?"

"I said help me out…even I know I can't beat this bastard alone…and since…and since you beat dad most of the time, I thought…I could, just this once, swallow my pride and tell ya: PLEASE HELP US!! And you better do it!!" The plumber was at loss for words. Had one of the koopalings just asked him to help him? He must have heard wrong…but, the face that Roy gave him, so full of anger…maybe a little hope, Mario couldn't resist.

"…I'll help you…Ludwig has caused enough trouble as it is, and I'm not letting him get away with it." Roy gave the plumber a big grin, and both, the first time for them both, shook hands.

"Okay then, my pops will kick my ass after this, so let's make quick work of Ludwig, okay?" Mario couldn't help but laugh a bit.

"Sure."

"Then, let's go, already you lazy bum!!" Roy began to walk, and seconds later, he stopped and turned to look back at Mario. "So…where are we suppose to be going, exactly?"

* * *

**Something to sort out first!**

**1-If you recall the P-Wing from chapter 7, you will know why he can't use any more.**

**2-I hated those Boss fights with Bowser in Super Mario 64...just how do you make a giant lizard spin, and then, throw him so he can get hit by a bomb!? So annoying...yet, pretty cool. BAM!(Okay, overracted...:p)**

**3-If you read the third part of chapter 2(or three, I kinda forget), you'll figure it out.**

**4-Yeah, lame...I know, but I was thinking a bit about the TMNT while I wrote this...besides, I was half asleep...dont hate me, please!**

**5-Same case as with Peach...Mario has fought this guys so damn much, it would be a wonder if he didnt know their names.**

Well, I guess that's that. While the old enemy of Luigi's was kinda made a little too obvious in one of the previous chapters...I guess it turned out good. Sorry if the fight seemed a little short, but, I had to cut it down a bit...you can't imagine how many times Roy was originally going to roll in the brainstorming part of this chapter. Also, sorry if Roy's character was a bit off, as he is more of the bully type, but, seeing as he is very desperate he'll request the help of his greatest enemy...its not like his father hasn't done it before.

Well, phew! That was another long author's note...well, see you guys later this week, an extra update will be all up and ready for you guys to read and enjoy!

Please leave a review!


	13. Chapter 13

Fyras14: Hello, everybody...chapter thirteen is here...sorry for it being up so late...this is the third story I update for today and I'm exhausted...sigh. Well, anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter...it contains a certain character you guys all know, and also another ability of Ludwig's little inventions.

Please read and review, or criticize, whichever comes first!

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"_To fear is one thing. To let fear grab you by the tail and swing you around is another." _

**-Katherine Paterson, **_Jacob Have I Loved_

**Chapter 13: The Boo of All Fears!**

It was a sudden impulse that made Mr. L attack the evil ghost that stood before him. How long had it been? Two years, maybe three, since he last saw this invisible creature. The King of Boos only laughed at the plumber, as the latter's punches made contact with only air. King Boo floated nearby, receiving each of the man's hits, but taking no damage. Mr. L was sweating now, and he glared at the Boo before him. "Hehehe…what's the matter, eh?" asked the Boo King, floating from left to right. "I know how much you like being physical, let me see you go invisible!! Hehehehe!!" Mr. L jumped towards the Boo, and sent a good kick. The only thing the man managed to hit was the wall, he had gone through the Boo's body once more. Another laugh echoed across the room, making Mr. L turn back at his foe.

"Play fair, king of ghosts," Mr. L said, making his hand glow a neon green, and then, he sent a thunder filled punch towards his foe. The Boo just disappeared, forcing the thunder punch to hit the wall. Removing his fist, Mr. L shook his head at the unnecessary damage that he had done to the dungeon's wall. The wall had almost cracked in two, and it had huge hole—courtesy of the Thunder Fist—in the middle. King Boo quickly reappeared behind him, looking in awe at the damage.

"Ah! Such power, have you been actually training while I wasn't looking!! Hehehehe!!" Mr. L was about to sent a another punch the Boo's way, when something stopped him. Then, the plumber grinned mischievously at the ghost. "Eh? What's with you, pathetic plumber? Don't you care to hit a wall?"

"I was just going to ask you if you know what thunder calls to its side when the time is right…" King Boo raised an eyebrow**(1)** at him, slightly confused.

"Huh?"

"I fear that you will find out the hard way, King of Boos!!" As soon as those words left his mouth, the plumber began to spin in his place, fast. He spun so fast he looked like a small tornado, some sparks of green thunder around it. And, just as quickly as the tornado had formed, it moved towards the Boo. King Boo only laughed, as if finding his trick amusing.

"Hehehehe!! Nice spinning you got there, plumber boy…but still you can--" The Boo felt himself being absorbed by the tornado that spun towards him. The ghost, sensing danger, tried to teleport, but the wind was begging him to come closer, and so, his transportation failed. King Boo tried to float as far as he could away from the small tornado, but he couldn't. _How can a mortal keep on spinning so fast!? _the ghost mentally asked, trying to escape the clutches of the small twister behind him. _I can't escape!! A ghost trapped by a mortal!! _ Soon, the Boo was inside the tornado, spinning along with the man that had formed it. The Boo gave yelps of pain as the thunder within the twister shocked him, hitting the Boo a lot of times. After a couple of minutes, the tornado stopped spinning, and King Boo was sent crashing towards the ground. Mr. L looked back at his foe, who seemed weak and dizzy.

"So, did you enjoy my thunder and wind? I sincerely did." Before the King of Boos could respond, both heard a clap behind them. Mr. L and King Boo turned to face Ludwig, a small smile present in his reptilian face. The Boo glared back at the koopa and tried to stand up.

"You…!!" Ludwig raised his hand, and took out his hammer with the other.

"Silence, foolish king!!" The silver metal of the hammer began to glow a small light pink. The Boo's eyes faced the glowing light for a while, and it began to change color. The Boo's white ghostly complexion turned a little yellow, and his mouth shut. "Finally, now, if you could…leave us," King Boo nodded at the Koopa King and disappeared. Once he was gone, Mr. L turned to the koopa.

"My, my…I'm impressed, how did you get the old ghost to obey so fast?" the plumber asked him. Ludwig just smiled.

"King Boo was a loyal follower of my father's…I just managed to change his mind, a little…don't worry, as long as my hammer glows, that Boo and his underlings will obey any order that I give them." He then put a hand on his chin, as if thinking about something. "I do wonder what caused him to break out of my control, though…unless…" The koopa faced Mr. L, grinning a bit. "The Boo King must have recognized you, and broken out of my spell…why would the Boo King fancy someone such as yourself, anyway?"

"Me and that fool of a King, go way back…he doesn't like me, and so, I don't like him, either."

"I see…well, I just came to inform you that Mario is moving once more…apparently my distraction served little to stop him."

"Do not let that worry you, Koopa King, I have already rested, and I'm ready for a rematch…this time, I will get rid of that man." He bowed to Ludwig. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I must go get a bite to eat, and perhaps visit the beautiful ladies later…good day," Mr. L turned around, and quickly left, leaving Ludwig alone.

"What a fool…." Ludwig muttered. _He hardly knows what I'm planning, yet… _"Boo! Come now, I order your presence!!" In the blink of an eye, King Boo appeared in front of his 'new master'.

"Yes, master?" asked the Boo in a monotone voice.

"You are to go straight to Knut-Nut Harbor, Boo," Ludwig explained. "go and take care of that wretched plumber, then, bring him to me…if my little brother, Roy is with him as well, bring him as well." **(2) **King Boo nodded. "If Mario manages to defeat you and your lot, come here immediately, no exceptions! Is that clear!?"

"Yes, master. I bring Mario and little brother to you if they are defeated…if not, me and lot come back…no exceptions.." And with that, the ghost disappeared. Ludwig shook his head.

"Obedient, but stupid…just what I needed."

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Mario and Roy looked back at Knut-Nut Harbor, the very few building that stood by the sea, guarded by Hammer Bros. and Paratroopas. "Oh dear, the Harbor is as good as taken!" Mario exclaimed, shaking his head worriedly at the koopa infested harbor. "Getting in there won't be easy," Roy sighed.

"Of course not! Ludwig puts security on the top above all else…but, its not like a group of mindless idiots like this guy would be of any challenge to you, eh, plumber boy?"

"….they are a challenge…big groups aren't my specialty, you know?" **(3)**

"Who cares! The only thing we really need from that harbor is a ship to reach the castle…if they get in the way just crush 'em!!" Roy quickly ran out of his hiding place, with Mario following behind him.

"Wait, don't we need a plan!?"

"Too late for planning!! Move it!!" Mario followed the pink shelled koopa straight into enemy territory.

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**Some things to sort out, first!**

**1-The Boos do have eyebrows, right? Sorry, I keep on forgetting...correct me if I'm wrong, though...**

**2-I reasoned that since Ludwig created those black stars, he must know what happens when they are expelled from the subject...as they return back to normal.**

**3-I always hated to fight large groups of enemies in the Mario games...although Mario has already fought and even bigger group before, he had a allies when he fought them, and a plan(well, at least the second time, he did).**

Well, this chapter isn't my greatest work, but I still think that it turned out good. Expect another update either on Saturday or Sunday, or next week!

Please leave a review!


	14. Chapter 14

Fyras14: Hello, everyone! Chapter fourteen is up and...well, you know. Sorry for the very big delay...I had a very bad week; first I bit my tongue, twice, a day after the first bite(you can imagine what happen to it...), I tripped and fell(have a few scratches and bruises because of it), and to top it off, I have to go to the doctor this afternoon(its still morning in my place)...but, well, no matter. Chapter fourteen is up, and hope you all enjoy it!

Please read and review, or criticize, whichever comes first.

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"_A single rose can be my garden…a single friend, my world."_

**-Leo Buscalgia**

**Chapter 14: Nightmare in Knut-Nut Harbor, Begin!**

Mario groaned as the parade of Hammer Bros. and Paratroopas went straight towards both him and Roy.** (1)** The pink shelled koopa was quick to take out a group of Paratroopas with a large flame, that burned their wings and sent them head first to the ground. Roy took advantage of this, and kicked a fallen koopa, making its shell hit the others, and knock them all out. Nearby, Mario tried his best to avoid being hit by the Hammer Bros. hammers. He managed to evade the swings they sent his way, and then, the plumber took his chance, and hit one of the Hammer Bros. right in the jaw, making him fall over. The other tried to hammer his way up to the plumber's head, but Mario moved, making his attacker hit one of his own allies.

Both sides fought with all their power, until finally not one single koopa, except Roy, remained standing. They were all knocked out, hiding inside of their shells. Mario and Roy looked around, inspecting the small harbor before them. A single street full of houses decorated the harbor. Some houses received a lot of punishment, but unlike Toad Town, this harbor still could be considered a town. "Where is everyone?" Mario asked, noticing the sudden silence that had overrun the harbor just after their fight. None of the town's people remained. It was a ghost town, only overrun by fainted koopa soldiers.

"They might already have escaped," Roy muttered, not really caring about the people but trying to find a boat to take them to the koopa castle.

"But, how?"

"Well, I don't know." Roy told him, already exasperated with the plumber's goody-two shoes attitude. "There's water around here, take a guess!" The pink shelled koopa turned his head away from Mario and began to walk, only to be stopped by a lantern, that almost hit him on the head. "What the hell!?" Another lantern flew Roy's way, and the koopa was quick to avoid it. Mario looked around, with Roy sending out threats at whoever was throwing the lanterns at them, "Listen yous, whoever you are!! You better show yourselves and fight like the cowards you are, before I take you out myself!!" There was no answer for a couple of minutes, and then, their attackers materialized in front of their eyes.

They were two Boos, exactly. Both had a faint yellow glow to them, and their tongues dangled away from their mouth, dripping saliva. Their eyes took a spiral like shape, as well, making the plumber and the koopa back away a little. Something was definitely wrong with this Boos.

"Those Boos, looked possessed or something…" Roy muttered as he and Mario stood side by side, far away from the Boos that were floating in front of them.

"How does a ghost get possessed, exactly?" Mario asked him, only to receive a shrug.

"Like I would know…" Both plumber and koopa looked back at the 'possessed' Boos as they were making their way towards them, and as usual, Roy was the first one to go and attack. His claws up, Roy tried slashing the Boos, but with was unable to touch them. The Boos had become transparent, Roy's hits were nothing but bother to the wind. Seeing that Roy was keeping the Boos busy, well at least to his eyes, Mario quickly ran up to the ghosts, and with a single hard kick, got one of the ghosts in its behind. **(2) **

"…kyaa…." The Boo cried, before it disappeared, defeated. Its other companion, turned away from Roy and looked at Mario, giving Roy the opportunity to hit the Boo in the back. Another cry of pain was heard before the second Boo disappeared like the other. Roy laughed and gave Mario a two tooth grin.

"Ha! That was easy!! Piece of cak--"

"Hehehehe…" Mario and Roy turned their heads, and gasped as they saw King Boo materializing in the air, followed by a group of Boos, ten or twenty as far as they could see.

"Okay…we ain't done with the cake…yet," Roy muttered as he and Mario prepared for another fight. Just like the other Boos, their King seemed strange, as he didn't have that malignant aurora around it. In fact, he looked possessed as well as even its cackle had sounded strange.

"…Bring Mario…and little brother…" They heard the ghost king mutter. Plumber and koopa exchanged confusing glances at each other, wondering what exactly was that the ghost meant. "…no exceptions." King Boo, after finishing his rather short speech, began to spin, attracting all the other Boos to his body.

"What's he doing?" Roy asked.

"I don't know…he's never done this before!" Mario cried, trying to figure out what his old enemy planned on doing. By now, every single Boo was inside of their king's body, and then, King Boo's body began to change. He grew larger in size, twice Roy's own(who in turn was taller than Mario). His appearance changed as well, no longer sporting his crown. Longer hands sprout out of his body, legs as well. A huge shell, and blue hair followed, and within a matter of seconds, the transformation was complete. Mario gasped at what King Boo had transformed himself into; Bowser. King Boo had transformed himself and his subjects into a blue haired, white skinned copy of the former King of the Koopas.

"What the hell?" Roy muttered, not knowing what to think of it. He was few of the lucky ones that didn't get to fight King Boo, rumors of his power increasing with numbers of his own species was a sight to behold. **(3) **He glanced back at Mario, who stood in his fighting stance, awaiting the worst to happen. Roy couldn't help but grin a bit as he saw Mario's determined face. _So…he's a good fighter after all…no wonder he's hard to beat. _He turned his head back at the Bowser copy and growled.

"**RAAAAAAAAWWWWRRRR!!!" **The Blue Ghost Koopa roared**(4)**, and then, began his attack. Opening his huge reptilian mouth like Bowser would do all the time, he released a huge stream of blue flames, that made the air colder and not hotter. **(5) **Roy and Mario quickly dodged the flames, and from a safe distance, unleashed flames of their own. The plumber let out two or four fireballs, while the koopa hit the flames with his own stream of fire. The three attacks collided, but none of them backed down. Seeing that this was going to do nothing, all three stopped their attacks, but that was the first mistake that both allies committed. As soon as they had taken their eyes off the koopa ghost, Blue Ghost Koopa had disappeared, only to appear above them, and almost ground pound them. Mario and Roy were able to move out of the way, but the wave of the impact made them crash against a nearby building.

Recovering from the attack, Mario and Roy barely had time to dodge the second ground pound that the ghost Bowser sent their way. "That thing's going to make potato sauce of us!!" Roy cried as he and Mario fell to the ground. Mario looked back at Blue Ghost Koopa, who was already getting up, and then, it jumped and disappeared again. Mario could barely see its transparent form in the air.

"Come on!" He called to Roy, who was barely getting up from the ground. "We gotta go!!" Mario helped Roy up, and both began to run towards the entrance of the harbor, right back to the forest. The plumber was in the lead, while Roy struggled to keep up.

"Ahhh—Uff!!" Roy tripped and fell, just at the same time that the ghostly Bowser decided to ground pound the ground. Mario stopped running and look back in shock, barely having time to react, Roy on his part covered his head, wondering if his shell would protect him. Then, a miracle happened, the Blue Ghost Koopa missed. Roy managed to opened his eyes, and looked as the ghost began to pick itself up again, but this time, it didn't jump, but raised its foot. It was planning to squash him to death! For the first time in his many years, Roy finally felt afraid. He couldn't move, only shake, waiting for his demise to come soon…he closed his eyes and waited for the impact.

It never came.

Opening an eye, Roy gasped at what he saw. Mario was holding the koopa's foot in the air. His arms were shaking from the weight of the koopa above him, even though it was literally a ghost. The plumber looked down at Roy. "You okay, Roy?" he asked him. The koopa looked back at him in shock. Had his worst enemy just saved his life, or did the world explode?

"Why…why…why you save me for?" Roy asked the man. Mario gave him a kind and rather forced smile(he was carrying a who-knows-how-heavy koopa after all).

"I can always spare a life for another's own." Roy was at a loss for words. What could he say? Here he was, cowering in fear, and then, his worst enemy saves his life. Roy had never had anyone save him from anything, he always managed to get out of trouble himself, and now, there was someone that had actually bothered to care for him, even though they were foes, the worst of the worst. Maybe that's why Mario always defeated Bowser, because he was strong in both mind and heart…he could make sacrifices that would either kill him or hinder his quest to save Mama Peach. The koopa opened his mouth to respond, when suddenly, a grunt caught his ears. He looked up to see the huge Bowser copy balancing, moving its hands dangerously to avoid falling. "Try tackling him…make him fall down…Lu-Luigi always says that a ghosts would always separate if they hit solid ground." **(6) **Roy felt himself nodding, and rolled away from the foot and Mario.

He ran to the Bowser's back and took a deep breath. _Okay, take it easy…when was the last time you kicked another koopa's ass? _Taking another deep breath, Roy ran towards the Blue Ghost Koopa's back, his head towards its shell. _Here goes nothing!! _Like hitting a ball with a bat, Roy's head collided against the huge koopa's shell. It balanced once or twice, before falling the opposite side, lifting its foot from Mario. Once it hit the floor, the koopa disappeared in a puff of smoke, the Boos were all out and going, floating around, most stunned while others were confused. King Boo was also confused, floating from side to side. "This is our chance!!" Mario cried, the energy he had lost from holding the koopa's foot returned. Both plumber and koopa dashed towards the Boos, hitting them as fast as they could on their weak spots. One by one, the ghosts all disappeared, defeated. After the last Boo was defeated, their monarch stopped floating around and looked at his two foes as they made their way towards him, slowly.

"Hehehehe…" King Boo cackled, not really smiling nor glaring. "…I lost…retreat…retreat…." He cried, and then, spinning once more in the air, disappeared. After the Boo left, everything was silent again, none of the koopas had woken from their forced slumber. Roy turned to Mario, who was sighing in relief the threat over.

"Umm…hey…" Roy called, making the plumber turn towards him.

"Yes?" _Crap, now what?_ Roy had never thanked anyone before in his life. Whether it be for giving him a share of their food, a room in the line, or just about anything else, Roy had never said a thank you before to anyone. Not even to Peach that had helped him up when he had accidentally tripped. And now, look at him now, the tough boy having trouble to say thanks.

"Umm…I…well, I just wanted to, you know…th-tha-than…well, you get the idea, no!?" He cried, finding it more difficult to say thanks than beating the crap out of a kid. Mario seemed to understand him, and nodded, smiling.

"Your welcome," before Roy could respond to that, a huge noise caught their ears. Looking around, they spotted one of the doors of a nearby building ready to break off. Taking their fighting stances once more, they waiting for their foe to appear. Minutes later, a huge white Goomba with a black moustache crashed against the door, and broke it.

"Goodness, it was about time I gotta out of that place!!" The Goomba quickly got up, and looked around, spotting the fallen koopas and then Mario and Roy, who were still in alert. "Well, well, so you two young ones took care of them rascals? Good, good!!" He told them, nodding his head. "Thank ye for saving the harbor, name's Knut-Nut, this harbor's captain and founder!" Mario and Roy dropped their guard down, noticing that the Goomba was no danger at all.

"What are you doing here?" Mario asked Knut-Nut. The white Goomba sighed and shook its moustache, as if irritated.

"Well, you see, young moustache red man, and pinky koopa," Roy raised an indignant eyebrow at the Goomba, but said nothing. "this rascals came here and took over…everyone running around like crazy, and me got lucky to be stuck inside room and not eaten!"

"We don't necessarily eat meat, you know?" **(7)** Roy explained, folding both arms across his chest.

"Well at least its good to know that everyone got away to safety," Mario commented, making Knut-Nut nod.

"Course it was, little moustache red man! Now, since you saved me harbor, I thought giving you a prize would fit the honor."

"You have a ship we can use?" Roy asked the Goomba, making him jump.

"You wanna ship, pinky koopa?" The pink shelled koopa growled, more annoyed than ever.

"Don't call me 'pinky', old man!!" Mario put a hand on his shoulder, making the koopa turn and sigh. Not worth arguing over a word, now. They didn't have the time for that.

"Well, if you wanna ship, I must warn you, though. The sea 'round this parts has been poisoned by sea monsters, matey!" Both allies raised their eyebrows. Ludwig's work no doubt. "Nothing good will come of sailing those waters!"

"So, you can't help us?" Mario asked him, frowning a little.

"Not necessarily," Knut-Nut told them. "you did save me harbor, so I'll grant you the wish of sailing!! Follow me!!" Mario and Roy followed the huge Goomba towards a huge boat, already docked and ready to go. "Come, quick!! Let us go…to…where, exactly?"

"Koopa Castle," Roy told him. Knut-Nut merely nodded, and got ready to set sail. Mario could barely see the castle in the distance, and he clenched his fists. _Peach, Daisy…Luigi…don't worry, I'll save you…_And then, the ship began to move.

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**Somethings to sort of first!**

**1-You might find it weird here that the koopas will also attack, their prince(as Bowser is their King). But, they already know about Roy's 'traitor status' thanks to Ludwig.**

**2-If I remember correctly, hitting ghosts in their behind was their weak spot.**

**3-If you guys have already played Luigi's Mansion, you'll know what I mean...**

**4-The name of this Bowser guy.**

**5-It is a known fact that when a strange presence and at times a spirit is nearby, the weather tends to get colder around the person this spirit or presence is with. The fire of this Bowser may burn, but it is in fact cold to the touch. Questions about this, ask them...**

**6-Okay, I kinda messed up with the ground pound thing here, so I'll explain. Since King Boo and his Boos are the ones attacking, hitting solid ground with their butts doesnt affect them, since they are keeping themselves locked together...think about them like they're holding hands. When the boos got distracted and were about to fall, they stopped holding hands, and so, they separated. Hope that wasnt too confusing. **

**7-Koopas are technically turtles, right?So they eat vegetables only, or what? Sorry, I myself dont know what they eat, but I'll keep them vegetarian for now. **

After another long author's note...this chapter comes to an end. Expect the next chapter to include a piece of Mr. L and the kidnapped princesses and Jr. in it!

Enjoy, and leave a review!


	15. Chapter 15

Fyras14: hello, everyone! Longest chapter yet, and the conclusion is not too far away!! I hope you all enjoy this rather long(by my standards) chapter, and hope you enjoy!

Please read and review, or criticize, whichever comes first.

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"_A little madness in the Spring_

_Is wholesome even for the King." _

**-Emily Dickinson**

**Chapter 15: Wendy's Plot, Mr. L's Anger**

Daisy and Peach examined every corner of their small room made prison to find an exit. The only thing they had found so far was a mice hole, and the window, but trying to go out from the window would kill them, and so, they decided against it as they found nothing to use as a makeshift rope. Both princesses fell to the ground, sighing in defeat. "I can't believe it…no wonder you have to wait for Mario to save you! This damn tower barely has holes in it!" Daisy yelled, irritated. Peach gave her a weary smile; she had completely forgotten that the princess before her had only been kidnapped only once, and saved by Mario once, too. **(1)** Daisy was the less experienced in being kidnapped by a koopa.

_Don't worry too much, _Junior called from his rock prison nearby, making the two princesses turn back to face him. _Ludwig or his guards could get distracted any minute…you can escape then…_

"We can't possibly leave you here, Junior!" Peach called, getting up immediately from the floor.

_You can't help it…I'm technically as useless as a stone…you won't have a choice…_

"But, what if Ludwig hurts you?" Peach asked the stoned koopa, worriedly. It took a while for the young koopa to respond, looking back at the princess's cerulean eyes. What could he say? He was a hindrance in their escape plan, and they knew it, and still Mama Peach wanted him as far away from this castle as possible.

"She's right, Junior boy," Daisy called, picking herself up. "we can't possibly leave you hear alone with that crazy koopa, you know?"

_But…but…I…_

"No buts. He's coming with us, eh, Peach?" Daisy winked at her friend's way. The Mushroom Princess clapped her two hands together.

"Of course he is!!" Before Junior could respond, the doors of the dungeon flew opened.

Wendy O. Koopa marched into the room, behind her a trio of large black armored Hammer Bros.. The female koopa looked back at the two princesses and the Junior statue. "Well, hello, there, princesses…squirt!" Wendy O. cried, winking a little at them.

_What do you want, Wendy!? _Junior cried from his prison.

"Nothing that concerns you, that is." She told the stone, and then turned to face the two princesses. Peach had both hands upon the stoned Junior's rocky shoulders, and Daisy was ready to fight the Hammer Bros. next to her. "Now, now, there's no need for hostility, girls…" Wendy O. told them, waving a finger at them. "Ludwig just wishes to give you a second home…really."

"Whatever Ludwig wants doesn't concern us!" Peach cried, surprising both Daisy and Junior. They were more used to Peach being kind and gentle, then aggressive to anyone, Wendy O. included.

"Hmph…you are one to talk, princess…he only said to get you guys moved from the tower…so, that means I get to choose what happens to you, now!! Boys, knock them silly!!" The trio of Hammer Bros. nodded, and walked up towards the two princesses. Daisy and Peach glared at the trio of Hammer bros., their small fists up, ready to defend themselves. Junior said nothing as he went on looking in horror, or at least that that's what Wendy O. hoped. Two of the Hammer Bros. charged towards the two princesses, catching them by surprise. All it took was a hard hit in their stomachs and they were out.

_Mama! And…Mama's friend!! _Wendy O. laughed at the princesses, as the two Hammer Bros. picked them both up. They went to leave, leaving only Wendy O., their brother, and a stoned koopa alone in the room. _Wendy! Leave them!! Why are you doing this!? _

"Oh, the little brother wants to know why? Well, I'll tell you why!" Wendy O. slapped the statue, and grinned mischievously when she heard a small pained growl. "Ludwig just wants to get rid of them for a while…to attract those fools of the Mario Brothers and our dear elder brother Roy…"

_Roy? _Junior tried to process everything he had heard. Roy was okay? And Ludwig wanted to attract Mario and Luigi to get rid of them? Junior had only hoped that his Mama and her friend had told him more about Luigi and his rebellion, or Mr. L as they called him. Whatever had made Luigi act against Mario was enough to use it against the two brothers.

"Yes, Roy…my, I don't know why Ludwig just doesn't get rid of the brothers with his hammer, it could save us a lot of trouble, you know? Besides…the brothers and Roy aren't the only ones that will disappear…" Junior didn't like Wendy's tone at all.

_What are you talking about? _

"Peach will breath her last breath in a couple of days, as well…you can't imagine how much I wanted to do that to her!" Wendy O. clapped both of her hands together as she said this, and even did a little dance. "I always hated her, you know? Always getting in my way…she was never prettier than me!!" The female koopa told her brother. "Now it's my chance to show the whole wide world who is the prettiest of them all!" She pointed a finger at her younger brother. "Hey, scatterbrain! Take this one as well, the last thing we want is someone spoiling the surprise to that Mr. L or whatever his name is!" The koopa nodded at her, and went to pick up Junior from the floor. As the Hammer Bro. carried Junior away, the small koopa cried out.

_You'll see, Wendy!! That Mario and Roy will stop you and Ludwig!! _He cried, Wendy O. just brushed the comment aside and sighed.

"Why do I even bother answering that? Ludwig is going to owe me a closet full of dresses if he wants me to keep on kidnapping people…well, at least, this could help me get rid of that Peach…maybe this will be fun after all!" She giggled a bit madly as she left the tower.

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The vast sea seemed to stretch on for miles, making Roy a little sea sick. This was the third time in his life, if he could recall correctly, that he had gone on a water trip, maybe he was a turtle but that didn't mean that he was a good swimmer. **(2) **"You hanging okay, there, Roy?"came a voice from behind him, making the koopa turn around and spot Mario behind him. The koopa merely nodded.

"Yeah, the water and me are not exactly the greatest of friends…" Roy told him. Mario gave him an understanding nod. He himself wasn't exactly a friend of the water, either, well, as long as it wasn't filled with piranhas, fish that wanted to kill him, bombs, or any other form of weaponry, or huge fish he was okay with it.**(3) **

"Well, as long as you don't fall, you'll be okay." Mario advised him. Roy was holding the railing tightly as he said this. "…keep on holding that, and you won't fall for sure…" Roy made a face as Mario chuckled.

"Hahaha…very funny," Roy muttered, not letting go of the rail. He looked back at the captain's cabin, where Knut-Nut was piloting the boat. "Hey! Old geezer!!" The white Goomba only glanced back at him, before he turned back to his work.

"Yes, pinky koopa?" Roy muttered under his breath, visibly annoyed by the white Goomba's name calling.

"How long till we reach land?" Knut-Nut seemed to think about it. Even though the castle could be seen from their location at the middle of the sea, everyone knew that they were very far away from it. Even if they had decided to swim from the harbor all the way over there, it would take them at least a couple of days, the longest being a week.

"Well, we left land just a couple of minutes, ya?" he asked them, making both plumber and koopa nod. "If the wind be good right now and tonight, we might reach it in half a day at the speed we be moving…but, if we run into delays, well, at least a day, if not in twenty more hours…" Roy groaned as he looked back at the calm water. He was going to be holding on that railing for a while.

Mario shook his head at the sight of the poor koopa, but said nothing. He instead, decided to look at the castle that was in the distance, followed by a group of smaller towers, or watchtowers as Roy had told him. How long had it been since he last saw this castle? **(4) **How many years have passed since Bowser last held Peach in this forsaken place? Many, he thought, or maybe a little less. His eyes scanned the area of green that he could barely make out from the distance. He shuddered when he remembered all of the traps and koopas the former Koopa King had sent his way. It had been a while ride, even with Luigi helping him. Mario looked at the ground as he began to think about his younger brother. He just wished that he wasn't hurting Daisy or Peach for that matter…of course, knowing Mr. L, Mario couldn't be too sure what he was going to—"Hey! What the hell? The ship's shaking!!" The plumber could barely keep his balance when the ship began to shake uncontrollably. Behind him, Roy held unto the railing tighter, as his feet gave up under him. The pink shelled koopa looked back at the captain's cabin and yelled out, "Hey, old man! What ya doin'!?"

"It ain't me, pinky!!" Mario quickly grabbed to the nearby railing and looked towards the water. Nothing seemed to bother the water, however, Mario noticed that the water was bothered a bit close to the shaking boat. Soon, however, the shaking stopped, and that certainly wasn't a good sign in Mario's mind.

"It stopped?" Roy finally let go of the railing and looked around. Nothing at of the ordinary around here.

"Shiver me moustache!! This little ship of mine won't go on!!" Both koopa and plumber looked up.

"What?" They asked in unison. Knut-Nut only nodded, trying to move the ship's wheel, with little success. He tried to move it again, but realizing that he might probably break it, the captain gave up.

"The wheel's stuck! Me ship won't move any—my! Look out boys! Tentacle!!" Mario and Roy gave him a confused stare, but noticing his panicked movements, they both turned around to see what he was talking about. Both soon discovered the reason for the captain's panic. Behind them, a huge black tentacle with red scars on it.

"A tentacle!?" Roy cried. Before long, the huge tentacle tried to hit the two, but with great skill, both Mario and Roy jumped out of the way of the tentacle. "Heck! I don't know who that bastard thinks he is, but he is going down!!" The koopa opened his mouth, and released a small fire ball towards the tentacle, that made no effort to move out of the way. Once the fire ball hit its target, the tentacle shook in pain, and then, as suddenly as it appeared, it disappeared back into the water. Mario went over to the railing and bent over it, trying to spot the tentacle again. He spotted nothing, but then, the ship began to shake once more, this time harder than before. Then, in a flash and a good bath of water, their foe finally appeared.

The creature that held the ship was a rather big blooper, one of color black with red scratches all over it. It's tentacles held on tightly to the boat, keeping it from leaving. "Shoot! That's one big rascal there!!" Knut-Nut cried, shaking its large head. He turned to Mario. "Little moustache man in red!" Mario had his head turned, his hand already glowing red.

"What is it?" the plumber called, already a fireball rested in his hand. He was about to let it go, when a tentacle got him in the stomach and sent him crashing to a nearby railing, that saved him from failing to the water.

"Blamey!! Listen, boy! There's a big cannon below deck!!" The Goomba informed him. "Grab that, and shoot this sucker, me and pinky koopa will keep him busy here!!" Knut-Nut jumped away from his cabin and ran up towards where Roy stood, already to sent another fireball the tentacle's way.

"But--" The koopa caught him off, as the fireball hit another tentacle, making the black blooper flinch in pain.

"You heard the old sucker!!" Roy cried out. "Go and grab the cannon and blast this one out of the water!!" Mario hesitated for a moment, before nodding and running as fast as he could towards the stairs nearby that led to the lower floor of the ship. Once he was gone, Roy turned towards the blooper and gave him a toothy grin. "You ready to dance, tentacle boy!?" As if taking his challenge, the black tentacle raised six more tentacles unto the deck, slamming against Knut-Nut and sending the poor Goomba against the cabin where he once was in. One of the tentacles tried to hit Roy, but the koopa dodged it with ease. He let another fireball leave his mouth, hitting another tentacle that made its way underwater once more.

Roy went on to release a second fireball, when from its small mouth, the blooper released a stream of ink, almost hitting the koopa. The pink shelled koopa managed to evade the attack, and mocked the creature. "Ha! Is that the best you can--" When Roy looked at the spot that had been hit by ink, he gasped. That blooper's ink wasn't ink at all, but black acid.

"Ah! Me ship!!" The Goomba called from his place nearby. "Pinky koopa, take care of it!! Make sure tentacle man doesn't sink the ship!! I'll look for a bomb to do the work!!" Knut-Nut soon disappeared within his deck, leaving Roy alone to fight the tentacle monster. _I so hate solo missions…_the koopa thought as he jumped away from another tentacle. _I hope Mario hurries up with that—_**WHAMP!! **

"Aargh!!" As Roy was busy thinking, the black blooper had saw it as a good chance to attack him once more, slamming him against the deck and holding him hard against the ground. Roy struggled to free himself, but ended up failing miserably. He looked back at blooper, who was already going to shoot more ink acid back at him. "Shit!!"

**KABBBOOOOMM!! **Roy watched as the acid ink hit the floor just a few inches away from his head. Looking up, he saw the blooper momentarily stunned, a small cannon ball stuck in its head. Letting go off its prey, the blooper tried to hit the lower desk with his tentacles, but a cannon ball would always make it hard for it to grab its target. More cannon balls stopped the blooper from achieving its goal, and that only made the sea monster furious. It tried to hit the upper deck with its tentacle, but Roy was always there to get the blooper hard on the tentacle with his flames. It didn't take long for the blooper to realize what it was doing wrong, and soon, hid underwater again, surprising Roy.

The blooper soon appeared on the other side, and threw Roy to the water. "ROY!!" The koopa heard Mario yell, as he hit the water. Roy managed to keep himself afloat, and was aided by Mario, who managed to grab him through the small window from his spot on the lower deck. Once the koopa was inside, they felt the ship shake frantically. The blooper was going to sink them! Both ran as fast as they could to the upper deck, but, were shocked and surprised when they saw Knut-Nut standing in front of the large monster, holding a small Bob-omb in hand.

"Okay, monster of the sea, take this pill from me to you!!" Knut-Nut threw the Bob-omb at the unnerved blooper, who only grabbed it with a tentacle and held it firm, not knowing what to do with it. Taking the monster's carelessness, the Goomba quickly jumped towards the ground, and tried to cover himself with nearby equipment. He turned to the two others nearby, that were clearly confused by his action. "Take something to cover yourselves, mateys!! Cause I got nothing!!" Unsure of what to do, but seeing panic ring on the captain's voice, Mario and Roy fell to the ground, and covered their heads with their hands.

The blooper, by now, took its eyes off the bomb, and was ready to strike down on the awaiting cre—**KKKKKKKKAAAAAAAABBBBBBOOOOMMMM!!!** As soon as the bomb exploded, the blooper went up in the air, almost turning the ship over. Mario and Roy quickly recovered from the impact, and watched as in the air, a strange shadow star sprout away from the blooper's body. Soon, the once great monster was getting smaller, and smaller, until it was back to its normal smaller size and white color. As the blooper began to fall down, the shadow star above it, exploded into millions of pieces.

"My, my…who would have thought that such little guy would make all that destruction, eh?" Both Mario and Roy turned to Knut-Nut, who was already dusting himself off.

"Was that a small bomb or an atomic bomb you threw?" Roy asked the Goomba. Knut-Nut only grinned.

"I call it, Moby-omb**(5)**, pinky! Never leave home without one…they might be small and all that, but they sure work to take care of them big guns!"

"But, why didn't you just use it to begin with!?"

"Well, I didn't know where I had put the little guy, pinky! Besides, it was no big deal!"

"No big deal!?" Roy yelled after the old captain. "No big deal!? We were about to be sea food to sea food! And you say 'no big deal'!?" Mario gave a heartily laughed as the argument continued, and the ship once again began to move. Under them, the blooper, too, also swam away.

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Mr. L opened the door of Ludwig's throne room, and bowed to the koopa, not looking at his solemn face. "Stand, friend…you and I must speak, as quick as possible…" The green plumber quickly looked back at Ludwig, an eyebrow raised.

"You seemed troubled, Koopa King…what is wrong?"

"It's Mario…" At the mention of his brother's name, Mr. L's eyes turned wide.

"What has he done?"

"He managed to kidnapped the two princesses…Mr. L…he's planning to kill them!" Mr. L grabbed his chest as he heard those words. Mario? Kill Daisy and Peach!?

"He what!?" Mr. L almost roared when he asked the koopa. Ludwig nodded, melancholically.

"I apologize for not guarding the girls better…but, Mario…he killed most of my men before he took the princesses…however…" Ludwig quickly added, noticing the faint glow of green in his hand. "my sister, Wendy, has managed to track them down to a nearby watchtower, one that overlooks the sea…that's where Mario is keeping the two of them…" Mr. L had trouble bowing in appreciation, and soon excused himself to go and chase Mario and get rid of him, before he got rid of the girls.

As soon as he left Ludwig's throne room, Mr. L could barely control himself, and hit the nearby wall, making a huge hole on it. _How…can…he…be…so…heartless…? Mario…you shall die by my hand…in a day's time…I…_

_**But why, why is he doing this? Mario would never do this!! He wouldn't hurt them…he never woul—**_Mr. L quickly shook the strange thoughts that had began to fill his head. What the heck was he thinking? He was going to kill Mario and nothing more. _**…I know he would never do such a thing…**_Mr. L ignored that voice in his head, and quickly flew away from the koopa castle, rage filling his senses.

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**Notes at the end, like always...that will take most of space...etc.! Begin!: **

**1-Hopefully most of you folks havent forgotten Daisy's first appearance in the Mario World, have you? **

**2-Turtles are well known to be good swimmers, but then I was wondering, if the koopas were based on turtles, then, are they all good swimmers? Since I've never seen a game where koopas swim before(if you have, do correct me!), Roy will won't be able to swim in this story!**

**3-I so hated underwater levels...if the fish didnt get to me, those blocks with faces would, or some spiky thing...**

**4-How many games had Mario go to Bowser's castle to save Peach, anyway? I've lost count, already, just as Mario has...**

**5-Give you a cookie and probably an extra update later this week, if you can guess who this belongs too..he's in a book, but he sure is damn big!!**

Anyway, before I forget...notice that Mr. L now has two voices sounding inside his head, his and another one's own. Scary, I know...but it will be important later on! I hope you didnt mind the rather short battle, in the sea. I didnt want to make this one a big deal, and I almost gave up on writing it...but, had not Knut-Nut entered my mind, you guys would be waiting until tomorrow!

I hope you enjoy this chapter! Leave a review, please!!


	16. Chapter 16

Fyras14: My last update for this week, I hope you enjoy this rather small chapter. Next week's chapter shall be bigger than this one, I assure you. Thanks a lot for everyone's reviews, it makes me do my best in writing!

Please read and review, or criticize, whichever comes first.

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" _A king, realizing his incompetence, can either delegate or abdicate his duties. A father can do neither. If only sons could see this paradox, they would understand the dilemma." _

**-Marelen Dietrich**

**Chapter 16: Welcome to Ludwig's Kingdom**

"At last, Koopa Island, mateys!!" Knut-Nut yelled from his cabin, as he expertly docked the ship nearby land. Roy was the first out of the boat, landing hard on the ground before him, and turned back to Mario, who was making his way towards him. The plumber suddenly stopped and turned back to the old Goomba.

"Are you planning on waiting for us?" he asked him. Knut-Nut gave the red hero a grin underneath his long moustache.

"Of course, red moustache man! I don't see why I should not! You did save me harbor, if I recall."

"Thanks," Mario told him, smiling.

"No problem…I won't be much of help anymore, so I hope you can forgive me. Good luck on saving or kicking whoever you came to look for!" Mario gave him a grin, and soon, joined Roy at the shore. Roy waved back at the old Goomba, but cursed at him when Knut-Nut said, 'Good-bye Pinky!' at his waving. Soon, they were walking down a forested path again. This time, however, they didn't run into any problem, not even a small baby koopa to bother them.

"That's strange," Roy muttered after they were pretty far away from Knut-Nut's boat. "no one's around." Mario looked around, and nodded. Nothing was around to bother them, but Mario knew not to understimate Ludwig's way of keeping watch. That new Koopa King had pretty good guards that had almost managed to kill both him and his younger brother, Roy. "Knowing Ludwig, he already would have sent some sort of mega machine to kick our asses back to Mushroom Kingdom."

"Don't give us bad luck, Roy,"the plumber told him, but nodded as if understanding what he really mean--"Huh? What's that?" Mario pointed a finger in the distance, prompting the koopa to look Mario was pointing at was not too far away from their location. It was a huge watch tower, overlooking the forest before it. They could see a small flag with the symbol of a shell as well, telling them that they were in the Koopa Kingdom.

"That? Well, that's one of the new watch towers dad had made...like the one that you...oh, you know..."**(1)** Mario seemed to understand what he meant, and nodded sadly. On his many rescue attempts, the plumber had been forced to destroy many watch towers while taking out koopas or goombas on the way. "I hope Ludwig wasn't expecting to see us too soon...let's run. The faster we get there, the better." Mario nodded, and quickly took off, with Roy following behind him. Before they were even able to reach the end of the forest, they heard a loud laugh. A femininie and familiar life to Roy's ears. Roy quickly stopped, and looked at the strange Clown Car flying on top of them. There sitting like a queen on her throne, was Wendy O. Koopa, her feminine looking pink Clown Car**(2)** smiling back at the small bugs in front of them. "Wendy!!"

"Well, well..."Wendy O. chuckled, grinning maliciously at her older brother and the plumber. "Look, who it is...a good for nothing plumber, and a nutshell of a koopa, both in the same package!" As soon as the words left her mouth, four metalic legs sprouted from the Clown Car and then, the car planted itself in front of the two of them. It seem to giggle back at their determined and angry faces, but it was ignored. "I'm sorry to say, that this is where you boys stop your trip...you know, Ludwig's orders!!" Giving them very little time to react, one of the metalic legs, tried to stomp them flat. Mario and Roy moved fast, however, and the only thing that the Clown Car managed to hit was the ground below it. "I never would have expected you joining the enemy, Roy." Wendy O. told her brother, as another metalic leg tried to stomp the two and still missing.

"I have nothing to say to you, bitch!!" Roy responded angrily, as he evaded another leg.

"So rude, like always!!" The female koopa snickered, as Mario barely evaded a good stomp that her Clown Car sent. "And such language, you carry! Why not just go to our side, and save yourself some trouble?" she asked him.

"Shut up!!" Roy had lost his temper by now, and opened his mouth. He released a small ball of fire, that hit the Clown Car on his side. The small ball of flames barely scratched the car, but the other koopa didn't give up and sent another ball of flames, that was like the first one, brushed aside as if it were nothing but wind. Mario, too, decided to enter the fray of fireballs but no matter how many fireballs he sent the car's way._What is going on? _Mario thought, as another fireball extinguished itself on the surface of the car. _Not even Bowser's Clown Car wasn't this resistant!! _**(3)**

"Surprised by my little car?" Wendy O. asked the two of them, mocking them with a wink. "This little one has not only great armor, but wonderful fire power as well!!"It was only two words, that made the plumber and koopa stop their fire brigade. The lips of the Clown Car opened and they revealed a small cannon, as if it were it's tongue. Wendy O. waved at them good bye, mocking them with a wave from her hand. "Nice to see you again, Roy...Mario!! Ciao!!" Out from the small cannon, a small ball covered by electricty came out. Mario and Roy barely evaded the ball of electricity, as it hit the ground. Once it hit the ground nearby, however, a small explosion sent a wave of damage towards both plumber and koopa.**(4)**

"Aeeeiii!!" Mario cried, crashing against Roy, who in turn groan in pain.

"Did you like my little girl's kiss?" Wendy O. asked them, laughing madly. "Do you want another one!?" As soon as she gave the order, another ball crashed near where the two allies were on the ground. Another wave sent them against each other, flying and crashing against nearby trees. Mario managed to recover on time and went to aid the fallen Roy. Helping the koopa up, both looked up as another electrical ball made its way towards them. Another wave sent them to the ground, causing Wendy O. to laugh back at their incompetence. "Pathetic!! Both of you are so P-A-T-H-E-T-I-C!!" The female koopa gave another laugh, before she ordered her Clown Car to fire once more. "Another nice kiss, should do the work!!" The cannon made its way towards them, Mario and Roy were struggling to shake the wave of off them. She waved good bye at them for the last--**KKKAAAAABBBBOOOOOMMM!!** Before anyone could blink, another cannon ball flew towards one of the Clown Car's legs, destroying it.

"What the?" Roy managed to ask, as his younger sister screamed in terror, trying to balance her car with its three remaining legs. Another ball made its way towards the legs again, this time taking out two in the process.

"EEEEEEKKKKKK!!! What in the world is going on!?" Wendy O. cried as she held on tight on her Clown Car, as it went to the ground, completely forgetting to fire anything at the two enemies before her. Looking in the distance, Mario finally saw their savor and cried with joy.

"It's old Knut-Nut!!" The plumber cried, finally getting up from the ground. "He still can see us!! He saved our hides!!" Roy grinned as he got up to his feet as well.

"The old sucker sure knows how to be helpful from a distance...as long as he doesn't use his little bombs!!" The koopa turned back to his little sister who was still struggling to get her Clown Car up to the air. "Now, it is my turn to sa--" Before Roy could finish his sentence, Wendy O. managed to get her Clown Car in the air, leaving behind the two metalic legs that were now as useless as the the destroyed ones. Two other cannon balls were sent flying her way, but Wendy O. easily evaded them in the air.

"Let's go!" Mario cried, as he ran after the Clown Car, with the other koopa following behind. They were running towards the watch tower, that now seemed closer as they ran. The Clown Car reached the building and got in, crushing the door under its hard shell. Both finally were out in the watch tower's entrance, but before they could enter, someone stopped them. A raging and familiar voice that made Mario jump as he turned around.

"VILLAIN!! Let them go, this instant!!" Mr. L landed not too far away from them, his hand already glowing green and his face red with rage.

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**Some things to point out first!**

**1-In some of the games, after defeating the bosses the castles would crumble to nothing or get destroyed. I don't remember in what games this happened, however, so please tell me if you do remember...I wanna play them again!**

**2-I kinda didn't want to go into such a deep description with this enemy, so imagine this Clown Car to be pink instead of green, and with lips. I might even have a small sketch on devian art to show how it looks like.**

**3-I always imagined that the Clown Car isn't that invinsible, and that fire could affect it as well, but that's just me and for my story.**

**4-If I can recall, their are some foes that would release waves that would damage Mario once they hit the ground, so I thought I could add that to Wendy's little weapons. **

Another save by Knut-Nut, I think I have fallen in love with this Goomba!! Hahahaa...well, I hope you enjoy this rather short battle, the big one will be in two more chapters! Luigi's confrontation with with Mario will be soon, well, actually next chapter. Roy too, will go against his sister, but it won't be much of a fight!!

I hope you leave a review...and to all those that guessed Moby Dick, you were right! Man, this author has to know to give better quetsions to at least make a challenge!!


	17. Chapter 17

Fyras14: So late! So late!! Sorry about the delay, people...my writer's block got me again...sigh, then it decided to infect me with some Zelda fever...I've been getting so many ideas for that other game I completely went blank for ideas on this one.

...while i was expecting this chapter to be super long, I had completely forgotten that this one would actually be what you would call, the speech before the big fight, or something of that sort...well, anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter...this one will talk a little about Mario and Luigi's past...and a fight between siblings isnt too far away too.

Please read and review, or criticize whichever comes first. Flames are not accepted, frowned upon, and possibly deleted.

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"_Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero."_

**-Marc Brown**

**Chapter 17: Sibling Rivalry**

Mario almost gasped when he saw his younger brother standing a few feet away from him and Roy. He was already forming a green fireball in his hand, and the red plumber could clearly see his angry face. "I will repeat myself, villains!! LET THEM GO THIS INSTANT!!" Mario and the koopa glanced at each other in confusion.

"Who?" Roy asked him. Mr. L cried in anger, and sent the green fireball, that Mario deflected with a fireball of his own.

"You know very much, who! I will not let you hurt the princesses!!" Mario was a bit shocked at this. Him? Hurt Daisy and Peach? Surely, Luigi's other persona was going nuts.

"What are you talking about!?" came Mario's question. Mr. L's hand was beginning to glow in a light green color as the hero spoke.

"Feigning ignorance will get you nowhere!! The koopa king has told me of your plan, now I demand you release the princesses, before I KILL YOU!!"

"Ludwig!?" Roy growled, pointing a finger at Mr. L. "Hey you, Zorro impersonator! I don't know what Ludwig told ya, but we, well at least not me yet, nor the plumber here have kidnapped anyone!!" Mr. L didn't listen as he lunged himself towards Mario. The plumber stood ready to receive the blow. Both fists made contact against each other, releasing a small parade of green and red flames. Mr. L backed away, preparing to send his next attack, already his hand was glowing green neon. Mario glanced back at Roy, who only nodded. "Good luck with that! I'm catching the crazy bitch!!" Mario only gave him a nod, before he sent a fireball of his own to counter Mr. L's own.

The koopa only glanced back once at the fire fight behind him, before he began to climb the stairs of the watchtower. He looked at the long way to the top. _Shit…now I remember why I never liked this damn towers…too damn high…_Roy grumbled as he began to run towards the top of said tower. He was lucky he had not encounter any problems while climbing the tower, one would think that Wendy O. had some sort of plan B in case he and Mario had defeated her little monster. Roy almost laughed to himself. Wendy O. with a plan B, now, the world was ending for sure!! He could already see the light outside, it seems the door leading to the roof of the tower had been taken down as well. The pink shelled koopa quickly ran towards the roof, and finally spotted his enemy.

Wendy O. was a few feet away from him, still on top of her crazy Clown Car. He gasped when he saw that the Clown Car had grown two metallic arms, and on each of them, she was holding two women. Peach and Daisy. "Well, well…look who it is!? You again!" Wendy O. cried, moving one of the metallic arms in the air. Daisy growled in frustration as the arm that was holding her up went up in the air.

"Let us go, you fancy no good koopa!!" the Sarasaland princess cried.

"Shut up!!" Wendy O. turned to Roy, and gave him a malicious grin.

"Let go of them, now, Wendy!! This is our fight, not theirs!!" Wendy O. only laughed, shaking the two metallic arms, getting gasps of surprise from both princesses.

"Really? Are we acting the hero now, hmm? Mario must have really rubbed on you!!" It was Roy's turned to laugh. He took off his glasses, and threw them to the ground, he then, stomped them hard, breaking the pink glasses that he always wore.

"Hahaha…a hero! What kind of joke is that!? I'm not the hero, I'm the big brother, now, let those two go before you really regret making me angry!!" The female koopa only laughed in response, pushing some buttons inside her Clown Car. Soon, a large crystal protected her from attacks, and the Clown Car's mouth was open again. Roy was a bit shocked at the transformation, but stood his ground. "Bigger shit ain't going to stop me, ya hear!?"

"Well, then, too bad!!" Roy waited for the first attack, and was surprised that instead of a cannon ball, it was a Bullet Bill that came out of the Clown Car's mouth. _This is gonna hurt…a little…_The koopa grumbled, before he prepared to attack.

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Mario and Mr. L had been exchanging fireballs since the beginning of the fight, each wondering on what to do next to get rid of each other. The red hero noticed that his younger sibling was obviously upset, even though he hid it with his anger, while they fought. This fight had began to awaken memories that Mario had never forgotten.

Since they had been little kids, Mario had always protected Luigi from bullies and bad placed pranks, receiving a faint thank you from his younger sibling every time Mario came to the rescue. Sometimes he wondered if he was just being too overprotective of his brother, but when he saw that Luigi didn't care, Mario didn't mind and kept on defending them. When they became young men, however, the whole story had changed drastically.

One brother had gone to save some princess he hardly knew from the evil King of Koopas, Bowser, while the other stayed home alone. After Mario had become famous for saving Princess Peach of the Mushroom Kingdom, his younger sibling had become nothing at all. Luigi, during Mario's glorious days, he was merely known as the younger Mario Brother…no one could even remember his name! **(1) **Luigi hardly joined Mario on his adventures, being more of the pacifist kind of guy. He never did anything worth mentioning while Mario was around saving the day. Sure, Luigi could cook, do plumbing, even invent things if he felt like it, but not once did the green plumber ever joined his brother on any adventure, only if he was asked, and even then he wasn't as brave as his brother was. Then, she came.

After being saved by Mario from an evil alien, Daisy had become a vital part of the crew. It was her convincing and energetic demeanor that had forced Luigi to join on every single adventure the crew had. From parties to sports events**(2)**, it was thanks to her arguing that Luigi finally became his own person. He had become braver with her around, even a little of a show off, but still, no matter in how many sports events, parties, and races he participated in, he would always be seen as Mario's shadow. The older brother, of course, as clichéd as it sounded, never took notice of Luigi's exclusion from the outside world.**(3)** In fact, he never thought that being around him, and only him, was enough for someone to pay attention to him. They would never call him by his name, like they will do to Mario, they will never ask him to save the Mushroom Kingdom for Bowser, heck, even the Koopa King himself hardly remembered him, even though he was the brother of Mario and had helped him defeat the king a few times. And then, the accident with Count Bleck came. Everything went downhill after that.

Feelings that Luigi had never felt began to appear thanks to this Mr. L persona he was forced to take. Mr. L was everything Luigi wasn't, even though they felt love the same, sadness the same, even disappointment the same, both were different. Mr. L was the Mario that Luigi, deep within his conscience he wanted to be. He wanted to be the one to save the damsel in distress, he wanted to be the one to defeat the evil king and get a kiss from a princess, he wanted to win at all the sports events and parties…Mr. L wanted everything from Mario, while Luigi only wished he had it. Maybe if Mario had understood his brother's feelings, stayed by his side instead of saving the kingdom and being the hero, he would have probably stopped the feelings of jealously to surface. He would have probably had been there when Mr. L took over his mind once again.

Mario saw no way out, as he prepared to receive his brother's next attack, whispering in his head millions of apologies that would never be heard.

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**Some things to point out first!**

**1-If i remember correctly, there are some games in which characters forget Luigi's name and call him things like, Green Guy, or Mario's Brother, or something like that. **

**2-Mario Party and Mario Kart games, as well as those other sports games that have been getting out recently...**

**3-Yep. The idea of the perfect older sibling thinking nothing is wrong with his younger one, while the latter feels like crap. I just had to add it here.**

Well, that end's that. Next week's chapter...hopefully will be done next week...will involve more fighting and more voices on Mr. L's head...creepy...

Please be kind and leave a review.


	18. Chapter 18

Fyras14: Finally!! After almost a whole week of working on this one! Chapter 18 is here...in this chapter, as you can see from the title, will mark the return of our beloved Lu--hey, you need to read the chapter first! Hehe...well, not much to say on this one...a lot of fighting is present here, as well, as the last confrontation between brothers, well, at least not on Roy's part. Not that much of a big chapter, either...but at least it was how I wanted it to be...

Anyway, this chapter is dedicated to all of those that have reviewed the story so far...I hope you like it!

Please read and review, or criticize, whichever comes first. Flames are not accepted, frowned upon, and possibly deleted.

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"_Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear."_

**-Ambrose Redmoon**

**Chapter 18: Luigi and Daisy**

_**Will this…really be worth…it? I…can hear the thunder…it cries out...what is it telling me? **_

Mr. L fists tried in vain to hit Mario, who in turn only dodged and blocked the attacks. The green plumber had become visibly irritated by his older brother's dodging, and so, he decided to strike him down using his thunder fists. Every attempt ended up in a failure, as Mario moved out of the way. "Stop moving!!" Mr. L ordered, as he sent another thunder fist Mario's way.

"Luigi! Snap out of it!! I know you're still there!!" Mario cried, moving out of the way of another fist. He glanced behind him, seeing the damage his younger brother's thunder fists had caused; at least four or three holes were on the grassy ground. The plumber turned to face his brother, who was already preparing to attack him with another fireball. Mario's hand glowed in a red color, as he spoke, "Luigi!! Are you sure you are making the right choice!?"

"Quiet, I shall not hear your words!!" Two fireballs collided against each other. That distraction was enough for Mr. L to jump and punch Mario straight in the face. The plumber backed away a few steps, and dodged the kick that his brother had sent him. Mario decided that he had enough of defending himself and went to attack. Fists met fists, as kicks met kicks, neither was winning or losing.

"Luigi!! Please, we don't have to fight!!" Mario cried, dodging and blocking Mr. L's punches.

"I said, SILENCE!! I shall not hear you!!" His hand began to glow green, and Mario realized he to jump, and did so with timely accuracy, dodging another thunder fist that went his way. Another hole appeared on the ground, making Mr. L growl in rage. "Do not move!!"

"Why should I?" Mario asked him, pointing a finger at him. "Getting rid of me won't change anything, Mr. L!!" Mr. L turned to face Mario, teeth gritted and face red with anger.

"YES IT WILL!!" the plumber cried, and raised his fist, ready to attack, when he suddenly stopped. Mario took no notice of this, however, and charged to attack him. _**Will it? **_came the voice inside his head, shy and gentle. _**Or will it just make me a jerk…like…what Daisy said? **_Mr. L didn't ponder on what that meant, when he felt Mario's fist in his face.

* * *

Roy quickly ran away from the Bullet Bill, hearing Wendy O.'s snickers behind him. **"Hohohoho!! Is the little koopa afraid of the Bill!?" **The pink shelled koopa glanced back at the Bullet Bill. It was a fact that known of the koopa kids, Bowser included, had faced off against this guys. How Mario ever managed to dodged them, was a mystery to Roy, but he didn't dare wonder on it too much. What he needed now was to get both Peach and Daisy out of the Clown Car's grasp. He managed to turn around, and fire a well placed fireball against the Bullet Bill. The Bullet Bill cared more about following Roy than dodging the ball of fire, so it exploded on contact with the fire. _See ya, Billy boy!! _The pink shelled koopa thought, grinning to himself. He ran back towards the Clown Car, and began to think once more. _Now, I gotta get the ladies out of those arms fast! _

Wendy O. saw him coming back, and sent two more Bullet Bills his way. Roy began to think, as he ran head first towards the two Bullet Bills. _One, two, JUMP!! _With all the strength he could master, Roy jumped and heard a small explosion as the two Bills crashed against each other. The female koopa gasped, while the princesses cheered on, crying out, 'Good one!' Roy grinned to himself, as he grabbed unto the arm that held Peach. "Sorry, I can't stay and chat! But, I need you not to move!!" Roy told her quickly, as he began to bite unto the hard metal of the arm. The pink shelled koopa could feel his teeth complaining, but he didn't care. His small hands were holding on tight as Wendy O. forced the metallic arm that held Peach move up and down.

"**AGGHHHH!! Get off!! Get off!! NOW!!!" **Peach felt sick already, for all the moving that she was forced to go through. She didn't dare move, however, as Roy continued to bite the metal.

"HEY!! LOOK OUT!!" Both koopa and princess looked towards the second metallic arm, the one that was holding Daisy, as it came crashing down towards Roy, pushing him off the other metallic arm.

"Uff!!"

"Roy!!"

"**Hahahaha!! Much better!! Time to knock you out!!" **Roy quickly got up, and was ready to latch onto the metallic arm once again, only to be hit by the second arm. Both Roy and Daisy groaned in pain as they made contact with each other, and then, Peach too, cried out in pain as she was thrown to hit Roy on his side. The pink shelled koopa fell to the ground, while his sister roared in laughter. **"HAHAHAHAHA!! MUCH BETTER!!" **From the Clown Car's mouth, another pair of Bullet Bills came out, rushing straight towards the fallen koopa.

"ROY!!" Peach cried, trying to wake up the fallen koopa. As the Bills went nearer, Wendy O. clapped.

"**Ah, poor Roy, I will miss you!!"** As the Bullet Bills came closer, Roy's eyes opened, and he hid inside his shell. The shell, then, began to spin, moving out of the way before the Bullet Bills could hit him. **"WHAT!?" **Roy's shell was spinning very hard, and then, it jumped. It slammed against the metallic arm holding Peach, breaking it almost instantly. Peach gasp, when she felt herself falling, but was saved by Roy, who quickly got out of his shell. The princess thanked the koopa, as he let her down to the ground, throwing the useless arm away.

"Now, Wendy! Let her go, or else!!" Roy warned as he began to walk towards his sister. Wendy O. merely grinned, and sent out four Bullet Bills to chase him…and Peach. Realizing what Wendy was doing, Roy turned to Peach. "RUN!!" Peach and Roy began to run in circles to avoid the Bullet Bills. More Bills went after them soon after, making it harder to avoid them.

"**Die, already!!" **Wendy O. cried from the safety of her Clown Car. Daisy watched in horror as her friend, and the pink shelled koopa tried their best to avoid getting hit by another projectile. _Damn it!! Now what!? _Roy thought, as he and Peach rolled out of the way to avoid getting hit by a Bill. _What do I do!? What do I do!? _Roy managed to jump out of the way before a Bullet Bill used him as target practice. **"Oh, joy, oh joy!!" **

"Roy!!" Peach cried, catching the pink shelled koopa's attention. "Why don't we try to trick the Bullet Bills to hit the Clown Car instead?" she suggested, stopping to catch her breath. "I've seen Mario trick them to hit the one that is sending them!" Roy looked back at her, thinking. That made sense. No wonder the Bullet Bills were considered the worst projectiles to have. They could follow the target anywhere, unfortunately, they had very little timing when they decided to turn and follow them.

"Good thinkin'!!" Roy cried, before he told her to follow her. Another pair of Bullet Bills made their way towards them. Both Peach and the koopa ran off in separate ways, looking at each other and the Bills behind them. Soon, the two turned and ran towards the Clown Car. At first, Wendy O. was so busy looking at her projectiles that she didn't have time to be shocked. When she did notice what they were doing, she gasped.

"**NOOO!! DON'T YOU DAR--"**

"Now!! Scram!!" Roy and Peach jumped their separate ways, and before the Bullet Bills had time to go after them, they hit their sender. The Clown Car was hit hard, and balanced dangerously in the air.

"**EEEEKKKKK!!" **

"Now, get me out!!" Daisy cried, coughing a bit thanks to the smoke created by the Bullet Bills. Roy quickly jumped to aid the princess, munching away the metal that held her fast, before Wendy O. saw him. Once the smoke was cleared, however, Wendy O. did see him.

"**YOUUUUUU!!!" **cried the female koopa. Pushing another button inside of her safe cabin, another hand sprouted off from its side, this one, however, managed to knock Roy off the arm he was holding, down to the ground below. Peach only screamed in surprise, before Wendy O. let go of Daisy too.

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Once the fist connected to his face, Mr. L shook away that pathetic voice that was holding him, before he returned the fist to his brother. Mario managed to dodge the hit, before he kicked him hard in the stomach. Mr. L was sent to the ground, clutching his stomach in pain. He was quick to get up, before Mario tackled the other to the ground. Mr. L was already turning his hand into a glowing light bulb, and Mario was quick to follow. Both attacked each other with their own fireballs, but this was just a trap on Mr. L's part. After the two fireballs crashed against each other, Mr. L jumped to the air, and sent a thunder fist towards Mario. The red plumber had very little time to react, as the fist got him in the face. Electricity surrounded him like an angry mob.

"AAAAAAAIIIIIIIHAAHAHAA!!" Mario cried in pain, before he felt a kick in his stomach, that sent him crashing to the floor. He received another punch of thunder in his stomach, sending him flying against the wall. Mario crashed against the wall, before he fell to the ground, face first. As Mr. L was walking towards him, he heard a loud yell, and looked up, seeing Roy crashing not too far away from where Mario stood. A loud groan was heard, before the pink shelled koopa fainted. The green plumber ignored the fallen koopa as he went over to his fallen brother. Mario was struggling to get up, before he felt a hard stomp on his back, making him fall down again. Mario managed to look at him, before he asked, "Why…why are you doing this?" Mr. L merely smirked, as the green glow began take over his hand once more. Time moved slow, as the green plumber spoke.

"Because I can….I have the power to destroy that you, not even in a million years would have….because this shadow has already become part of the light, and this is your end….Good bye, brother…" Mr. L raised his hand in the air, not seeing the pair of tears that made their way out of Mario's eyes. _**Is it the right thing to do!? **_

_Of course it is!!_

_**Is the shadow safest in the light!? Please!! Tell me, why can I do this!?**_

_Because you can!! _Mr. L closed his eyes, as the barrage of voices overtook his thinking, the glow of green never leaving his hand. He looked at Mario once more, who was merely accepting his fate, before he saw a cloud above them.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKK!!" Before Mr. L could do anything, a scream shook the air. Daisy was falling fast to the ground below, screaming and crying for her life. Mr. L quickly turned back to face Mario, and then at the falling princess. Seconds to lose, he had to decide…kill Mario…or save Daisy…

_**I can't!! If I kill Mario…I'll lose her…as well…and I'm afraid of being alone…**_

_You have no choice!! Do it!!_

_**NO!!**_

_Do it! Do it!!_

"HELP ME!!"

_**NOOO!! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!! GET OUT MY HEAD!!**_

_I can't…because I am you…you can't—_

"PLEASE!! SOMEBODY SAVE ME!!!" Mr. L shook all over, before he saw how close Daisy was to hitting the floor. Before another scream could be heard, however, everything stopped. Mario was able to look back, noticing that Daisy was not in the floor, bleeding to death, but in the arms of Mr. L. The princess looked at her savior in wonder, before he dropped down to his knees, still holding Daisy, as he shook all over.

"I'm…sorry…" came the sobs from the man. "I….I'm so sorry…."

…_**the green thunder…was crying…it hurts.

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**_

okay, not much to say on this one...but if you reread chapter one or two, I believe of this story...you might find the connection. Next chapter might come in a couple of days, I still need to work on it.

Please be kind and leave a review!


	19. Chapter 19

Fyras14: Fyras, here! Again! Well, this chapter came out a little tad bit short, but only because I had a small case of writer's block...dont worry, though, I'm recovering and will be back on track with this story. Well, one plot has already been taken care of, now, if someone would dare defeat Ludwig now...oh, oh...maybe I'm getting a little ahead of myself...well, I hope you enjoy this new, rather short, chapter.

Please read and review, or criticize, whichever comes first. Flames are not accepted, frowned upon, and possibly deleted.

_

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Truth is after all, a moving target_

_Hairs to split,_

_And pieces that don't fit_

_How can anybody be enlightened? _

**-Neil Peart, **_Turn the Page(Thank You, Ryan)_

**Chapter 19: Return of the King**

Daisy only looked back in shock as Mr. L—no—Luigi, cried his eyes out, as he shook all over. This was the Luigi that she knew, the one that wasn't ashamed to say he was afraid, the one that didn't jump to fight an enemy, but never stood behind as someone got hurt. He was the shadow of Mario, but to her, the only star in the world. Still on his arms, Daisy couldn't control herself as she hugged her savior tightly, not caring if his tears ruined her dress. "I…I'm sorry…." He sobbed, whispering close to her ear. "So…sorry…"

"Shh…it's okay…" Daisy said, smiling sadly, as she patted his back. "…it's alright, Luigi…let it all out…" she whispered in his ear. From the corner of her left eye, she could see Mario getting up, looking back at the two hugging nearby. Daisy gave him a small nod, and smiled, patting Luigi's back as he continued to cry.

From his spot, Mario cried too. Not of sadness, but of happiness. His brother, his dear younger brother was back, and that is why he wasn't ashamed to let the tears fall. He was about to join them with an embrace of his own, when he heard a small groan from nearby. Turning his head around, and gasped. Roy was struggling to get up, facing face up, trying to get up, but his shell wasn't helping him. "ROY!!" Mario cried, going to aid the pink shelled koopa. Helping him up, Mario patted his shell, and noticed that there were a few cracks on it. "Are you well?" he asked the koopa, who only nodded as he panted.

"Yeah…I'm a little cracked over…nothing big…" Roy glanced back at the two nearby, and gave a grin. "That crazy brother of yours is back, huh?"

"Yeah…" Mario whispered, he was about to open his mouth to say more, when Roy cried out.

"OHHHH!!! SHIT!! PEACH!! SHE'S STILL UP THERE!!" Roy pointed an urgent finger up to the tower, catching not only Mario's attention but Daisy's as well, Luigi crying out too much to care.

"Peach!?" Mario cried out. Not waiting for an answer, Mario quickly made his way towards the tower, leaving two people and a koopa behind.

As the plumber ran to the top of the tower, he only hoped that Peach was okay. If that malicious koopa had done anything to her, he'll surely—"MARIO!!!!" Hearing his name come out of panicked lips, Mario fasten his pace to the top of the tower, almost tripping down the stairs to make it to his goal. Once on top, he was greeted with an awful sight. Peach had fainted, being carried by a strange hand that came out from the feminine Clown Car.

"PEACH!!" He cried out, turning red with anger at the sight. Wendy O. only laughed from her safe place inside of the Clown Car, snickering with delight.

"**HAHAHAHAA!! You should have seen this brat's face! Priceless!!" **Wendy O. pointed to the fainted princess, and Mario stared in shock, as some red liquid made it down to the floor below her. **"Oh…don't worry, Mario dear!" **Wendy O. mocked. **"I ain't done with her, yet!!" **Mario quickly ran up towards Wendy O., fist up, ready to assault the koopa. Big mistake. The koopa had released a barrage of Bullet Bills that made their way towards Mario. Seeing the danger, and calling himself an idiot because he let the anger get to him, Mario quickly ran to avoid the projectiles. **"Bye, bye!!" **Wendy O. cried, as the Clown Car took to the air, with Peach in tow. Mario was finally able to get rid of the Bills and he watched in horror as the princess was taken again.

"PPPPPEEEEAAAAAAACCCCCHHHHH!!" The plumber cried. His call was lost in the horizon, as the Koopa Clown Car got away.

* * *

Ludwig looked back at the giant Bowser statue in his throne room, his left hand holding his hammer, as if threatening to destroy the koopa of stone before him. Behind him, not too far away, lay a caged Junior, who only watched on as his older brother faced their father. "Sad, isn't?" Ludwig asked, examining his hammer, and glancing at the Junior statue, who said nothing. "Seeing many things…but no longer being able to talk…how sad…" Ludwig laughed a little, as he turned to face the statue of his younger brother. He patted the stoned koopa's head gently, as if praising a puppy. "It is too bad you lost that will that made you speak, Junior…I would have loved to slash at you in a battle of the tongues…ah, but enough of that…" He turned to face the ex-King statue, and smirked up to the older koopa. "You, after all, father…are the saddest of them all…to think, I, a mere servant of your army defeated you…and your children…well, minus one…she's with me on this." Ludwig let out a small laugh, as he let his hammer hit the small cage that held Junior, sending it flying across the room, crashing against the nearby wall.

There was no response from anyone.

"Weak, foolish…everything that you'll always be, father…" Ludwig told his father, and then, pointed a finger at the fallen statue nearby. "That son of yours, the fool that you picked for the next in line for the throne is nothing but a joke! A JOKE!!" The oldest koopaling began to pace around the room, the hammer all but forgotten in the floor. "For years I tried to win your respect, and for what!? You make this poor excuse of a koopa your successor! A fool like you cannot expect to succeed! You gave us all hell when you fell in love with that poor excuse of a princess, and then, you brought ruin to our kingdom when he came around!! THAT MARIO!!" Ludwig stared daggers at the statue before him, as if expecting an apology, some sort of response that told him he was not alone. "Instead of listening to my tactical advice, you hid us in little castles, believing that that would stop him!**(1) **But, NO!! That didn't stop him!! Had we all stayed together, we could have won!! We could have had a kingdom to claim as ours!! You could have had that dim-witted princess as your Queen!!"

"But! No! You had to ruin everything for us!! Turning me into your personal guard…your own son, Bowser!! You are no father of mine!! You are weak, foolish, and worst of all…a bad King…" Ludwig suddenly chuckled, despite the anger that was within him. "…a pathetic King…a feeble king…and now, look at you!!" Ludwig's chuckles turned to howls of laughter, that died down after a couple of minutes that seemed like hours passed by. Neither of the stoned koopas moved. "…nothing but a trophy for my throne room…as it was meant to be…but, sometimes, a statue has to carry a bird's dirty work," Ludwig chuckled at his own joke, as he turned his back on the Bowser statue. "Your enemies are no fools, but neither am I…Wendy will be coming back soon, defeated…those stupid Mario Brothers will meet their end in my castle, along with your dear son Roy…" He turned to face the stoned king, and smiled. "Ah…yes, your pathetic son, the idiot…that pink shelled nut job of a son…dares to go against his own King? How sad…really…" Ludwig turned around once again. "…those brothers and that brother of mine will meet their end here…but, not by my hand," he slowly turned, in his hand, a black star floated, throwing little black dust. "but…by yours, father…" Ludwig threw the Shadow Star towards the Koopa King, that landed straight on his stony forehead, and sank.

Ludwig began to turn around again, as the statue behind him turned darker in color, cracks appeared in all of its body. The body began to grow a little larger in size, the spikes behind the shell grew in number, the hair became longer, the horns longer and curvier. The cracks on its body became even larger, before they slowly fell to the ground. A loud roar was emanated from the freed beast, that had glowing red eyes, and an all new form.**(2)** Ludwig only glanced at the beast, and chuckled. "Just like you wanted. You'll defeat the Mario Brothers with this power…too bad, really. You won't be able to enjoy it."

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**Some things to point out first!**

**1-Okay, everyone already knows this by now: Classical scene, Bowser puts one of his underlings to guard a castle in order to either, A) Trick Mario, or B) Stall him, or C) Just because he wants to do it. Sigh, even I got tired of fighting the bosses and finding out Peach is a long way off...damn Bowser.**

**2) Okay, here I'll put it simple. Bowser just transformed into Giga Bowser. Why? Well, I have no idea...I was thinking about Super Smash Bros. while I was writing this last part, and well, he came to mind. Hopefully you don't mind. **

Another kidnapping happens in this chapter, a father and son confrontation...a talk about frustrations, and well, just about anything else, too bad I ain't good at writing drama...sigh, good bye Drama Class...anyway, while this chapter was a little short, it kinda explains what would happen and all that...and well, it also gives some insight into Ludwig's frustration and all that stuff..well, next chapter will be a bit away from now, but I'll get working on it in a while from now..

Hopefully, you all enjoy this chapter. Please be kind and review!


	20. Chapter 20

Fyras14: Finally, after much planning and...getting distracted in the process...I think I made the characters here a little bit out of character, in this chapter...but at the end, it turned out alright, and all...hopefully...This chapter will be the only update you guys will get for a while, for a few personal reasons...one which i would like to call, writer's block...it caught me by surprise...and I've been holding unto this chapter for almost five hours writing it, or so...hope you enjoy this chapter, guys.

Please read and review, or criticize, whichever comes first. Flames are not accepted, frowned upon, and possibly deleted.

_

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It is to the credit of human nature, that, except where its selfishness is brought into play, it loves more readily than it hates. Hatred, by a gradual and quiet process, will even be transformed to love, unless the change be impeded by a continually new irritation of the original feeling of hostility. _

**-Nathaniel Hawthorne,** _The Scarlet Letter_

**Chapter 20: The Thunder that Lights the Way…**

_**Everywhere Luigi looked, it was dark…darker than everything he had ever seen before within his mind. The green plumber looked around, not shaking, not caring, not even breathing if it were possible. His face was fixed in a glare, facing the darkness before him. He waited slowly, and before his eyes, the darkness began to transformed into a hideous creature, a cloak of shadows, that soon began to take on a more normal and familiar form. That other self, that other Luigi stood before him, donning the outfit of the Green Thunder, looking calmly at his other self, as if searching for some sort of answer. **_

"_**Luigi…what has happened to us? How could we let ourselves be beaten by him!?" Mr. L cried, his voice resonating in the shadows that was their mind. Luigi didn't respond, but ran towards him, and with great force, punched the other Luigi in the face. Mr. L was in a state of shock at first, before he managed to regain his balance after he lost it thanks to Luigi's hit. The Green Thunder looked back at his other self, who prepared to strike him again. "WHY DID YOU DO THAT!?"**_

"_**Because I can!!" Luigi cried, sending another punch, which Mr. L easily evaded, before he hit the green plumber from behind. Luigi only stumbled a bit, before he regained his ground, and send a good kick the other's way. Mr. L barely managed to dodge the hit, before he glared at his other self. **_

"_**YOU FOOL!! Do you possibly believe you can get rid of me so easily!?" Luigi sent another punch the Green Thunder's way, and laughed. His laugh carried no humor. **_

"_**Ha! You think you can get rid of me, if you hardly could touch my brother!" **_

"_**SILENCE!!" The Green Thunder boomed, jumping in the air, and sending a diving kick Luigi's way. Luigi quickly rolled out of the way, getting up to his feet and blocking a new blow from his opponent. "Even after all we've been through, you still dare be Mario's shadow!?" Luigi and Mr. L exchanged blows, and got each other on their cheeks. The green plumber was laughing a bit, even though the pain on his cheek was unbearable. **_

"_**Ha! His shadow!? Don't joke, Mr. L!!" Luigi cried, sending another punch Mr. L's way. "If it wasn't for Mario we wouldn't have even become what we are now!!" **_

"_**LIES!!" Mr. L sent a kick to Luigi's stomach. The plumber received it, but he held unto the other man's foot, hard. The Green Thunder looked back at Luigi, his glare unmatched. **_

"_**Tell yourself that all you want, Mr. L!! Mario gave us the courage and hope to be heroes!! To protect those we care for!! Like Daisy!!" **_

"_**NO!! We were nothing but mere shadows under his feet!!" Mr. L cried, pushing Luigi away, who stumbled a bit and fell, only to come back again, and dodge a punch from the other man. He gave his own punch, sending Mr. L stumbling back a bit.**_

"_**Shadows!? HA! It almost appears as if you liked the idea of being a shadow of a man!!" Luigi mocked his other self, tackling him to the ground. Luigi stood over him, his hand glowing in a strange color. Mr. L watched in shock, as he realized what his other self was planning to do. **_

"_**Please…Luigi…let's talk…please," the Green Thunder begged, seeing the cloud form on top of him. He shook in terror unable to move, as if the binds of darkness were holding him down, telling him to receive the gift of thunder. **_

"_**You only used my weakness of being a shadow to gain some stupid revenge!" Luigi cried, clenching his glowing hand into fist, tightly. "You hurt me, my brother, and Daisy! You hurt Daisy!! She meant the world to me, and you were about to let her die!?" Luigi began to raise his hand as he spoke, watching in amusement—unknown to him—as Mr. L whimpered and begged for forgiveness. "I cannot forgive my other self so easily…" Luigi whispered, lowering his hand, much to Mr. L's shock. "Because I am me…and I can't destroy what I am…but, Mr. L…you and I…we are different…so we are not one in the same…" Luigi's hand stopped glowing, and he walked away from the fallen Green Thunder. **_

_**As he was making his way out of the darkness, the Green Thunder was greeted by a thunderstorm, that sent thunders his way. Luigi flinched as he heard the clapping of thunder, and Mr. L's desperate cries of help. Soon, one jade colored thunder got the other Luigi, and he sent out a scream, as his body shook from the electricity that circled his body, and then, seconds later, in a blinding flash nothing remained of the Green Thunder.**_

_**Just then, another voice spoke up, but Luigi paid it no mind as he continued to walk ahead to the light. "The green thunder is crying…it hurts…to see everyone so in…pain…Wake up…wake up…and see the red sun…red sun…that splashes through the night…wake up…wake up…the clouds are gone…" **_

Luigi calmly opened his eyes, to be greeted by the smiling face of Daisy, whose lap was his pillow. The green plumber blinked a few times, before he took the colors around him. He could see the sun in distance, and then he turned to face the flower princess, whose eyes were soon to be taken over by tears. "Luigi…" she whispered, watching as the green plumber got up on all fours, and faced her. Luigi smiled at her, and let her throw her arms around him. Daisy cried out for the first time in many days since last seeing Luigi and that awful Mr. L, not caring if somebody saw the once perky and happy princess crying out for the man she loved. "Oh! Luigi!! You're back! You're back!!" The Sarasaland princess cried in joy, holding on tighter unto the man's neck.

"Agh…agh…Daisy…can't breathe…" Luigi told her, helping the flower princess removed her hands from the plumber's sore neck. He wiped away some tears on her flushing face, smiling sadly. "…sorry…about all of this…Daisy…but, I'm back now…" Daisy smiled, and embraced the plumber again, this time, being careful to leave his neck alone.

"I know…Mario…will be happy…" she told him, sighing, as the final tears made their way out of her eyes. She pulled away from him, and gave him a moping look. "But…Peach…"

"Peach? What happened to Peach?" Luigi asked her, crying out in alarm. "Did I hurt her? Did I--" Daisy put a hand on his mouth to calm him down, and took a deep breath before she spoke again.

"You didn't hurt her, Luigi…Ludwig did."

"Ludwig?" Luigi tried to dig into his memory, trying to figure out what was happening. What about Ludwig? He didn't know…he couldn't remember. "I…I can't remember anything…I don't remember ever seeing Ludwig…" the green plumber told her. His face fell down, and he felt a few tears escape him. "…I only remember a fight…and…and…so much pain…not knowing if it was a dream…or a nightmare…" The flower princess smiled at the plumber, as she removed some strands of brown hair from his face.

"It is alright…Luigi…it's going to be alright now…" Daisy told him, as she helped him up to his feet. She held unto his hands, and she could feel them shaking with emotion. "Luigi…right now…we need to help Mario…listen…I…I need to tell you something…and please…promise me that you won't blame yourself from what I…I…I…will tell you…okay?" Luigi looked at the princess in the eyes, and nodded.

He was going to hear the truth of the Green Thunder now.

* * *

Peach groaned as she got up, her whole body shaking with pain. The princess slipped a bit on her two arms that held her up, and crashed against the hard pavement. Taking a deep breath before pulling herself up once more. She took her sweet time examining her surroundings, looking at the huge flags that covered walls, with the insignia of a spiky shell, and looking at the nearby overwhelming and decaying throne. Peach gasped a bit, flinching as she did for the pain was unbearable. She knew this place…she had been here too many times, waiting for her knight in shinny red armor to rescue her. It was King Bowser's throne room! At times the setting of the final battles between the King of the Koopas and her beloved Mario. _But…how…did I get here? _Peach wondered, forcing herself to lie down in the concrete for her injuries barely helped her in keeping her awake. _I remember that strange tower…Roy…and…Wendy…_Peach grimaced as she began to think about the evil female Koopaling, the one probably responsible for her pain. The princess wondered what would happen to her now. She knew Mario was coming to save her, but…if her kidnapping was just a trap? A trap to kill her beloved?

Peach battled the argue to sleep, but she was too weak. Only when her consciousness grew fainter, did she hear that voice. That little voice that begged her to stay awake. _MAMA!! DON'T GO TO BED NOW!! PLEASE!! _Peach's eyelids opened quickly and the princess forced her body to cooperate to look around. She spotted the statue she was looking for, not too far away, and forcing herself once more, and flinching as her feet were made to move, Peach ran towards Junior's stoned figure.

Junior lay inside of a cage, turned over nearby. Using most of the strength available to her muscles, Peach moved the cage, so the statue of the young koopa was facing her. The princess leaned against the bars, breathing hard, hearing gasps of shock from the stoned koopa inside the cage. _Mama!! You're hurt!! Did Wendy do this to you!? _Peach forced a smile on her face, before she faced the small koopa.

"Probably…but that's beside the point…Junior…what is going on? What does Ludwig want with me?" She could clearly hear the intake of breathe, before the little koopa spoke up.

_Ludwig wants to use you…as bait…to get Mario…and kill him…using Papa…_At those words, Peach's eyes almost left their sockets.

"Whatever do you mean?" Peach could hear the faint whimpers of Junior, sniffing as he spoke again.

_I pretended to…to not…be able to talk anymore…and heard him…talking to Papa…then…then he used something on him…and Papa…he…he turned into a monster! _It didn't take long for the loud sobs to escape the poor Koopa child. To suffer this kind of treatment in such a short age. Peach, reaching out from behind the bars, tried to console him, unable to fight the argue to cry as well.

"There…there…Junior…everything will be alright…shh…it's alright…" Peach, however, no matter how many times she tried to assure herself, she found that everything will just turned up worse than alright, and she feared whatever Ludwig was planning. She feared for Mario's life, that of Roy's, Daisy's and Luigi's. Unable to hold the tears any longer, Peach soon followed the small koopa with his crying, finally falling to a deep slumber, leaning against the bars close enough to feel the touch of the stoned koopa before her.

* * *

Luigi hardly could keep on standing, as he leaned a hand against a nearby tree, taking in everything Daisy had told him. How he had turned into Mr. L, how he had hurt Mario, too many times to even keep count. How, as Mr. L, he had gained an alliance with Ludwig, who in turn had betrayed his father and was the new King of the Koopa Kingdom.

Daisy watched him sadly, as the green plumber absorbed all of this information, wondering if she did the right thing to do. Sure, he had to figure it out eventually, but still, her heart broke when she saw him like that, sulking like if it was all his fault. Blaming himself for something that happened by chance. She watched as Luigi took a deep breath, before he spoke, not daring to look back at her. "…so…I..I…did all that?" Daisy nodded, even though he couldn't see it, she knew that the silence was enough to tell him that yes, it had been true. All that he had done, all the pain he had inflicted, everything was real. "…and Mario…is he okay?" Luigi asked her, almost in a whisper.

"He went to save Peach…" Luigi smiled, suddenly. Always the same old Mario, going to save the princess when in danger, yet this time around, it was a different lizard that held her captive. And he was just like Luigi to stay at the sidelines, always the second player that waited for his turn. _But, this time, it will be different,_ Luigi thought, as he rubbed his eyes, ordering the tears to stop. He looked up at Diasy, with that rarely shown determined look plastered on his face. For a moment, the princess of Sarasaland feared that Mr. L had overtaken his being, but then, her mouth was laid agape for a while as Luigi said the next words,

"Come on, Daisy…let's go and save Peach, too…" Daisy was shocked at first, and then, her hand extended to grab his, and she smiled. For the first time in days, Daisy smiled, because Luigi was back, and now, they were going on an adventure.


	21. Chapter 21

Fyras14: After some time...and some writer's block....which I'm recovering from...I bring you, Chapter 21! The fight here is quite short, because it was going to get a bit repeptative...you guys will eventually find out why later on...but, anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and sorry for the really, really, big delay!

Please read and review or criticize, whichever comes first. Flames are not accepted, frowned upon, and possible deleted.

_

* * *

Dare to reach out your hand into the darkness, to pull another hand into the light_.

**-Norman B. Rice**

**Chapter 21: Brothers, Boos, and Bullet Bills**

Running. That was all Roy was doing this days. Now he knew how Mario felt when he had to go save Princess Peach from his father. **(1) **Seriously, though, how the heck did he take so much of this harsh exercise? Roy's legs were already a pain, and Mario, why, he appeared as good as new! The pink shelled koopa glanced at Mario, and noticed that his face had an expression of worry and anger. Worry, he was comfortable with, but anger? Since when did the red hero carry anger? Sincerely, not an emotion the koopa wanted to hang out close with. He preferred the other Mario, the one that was nice, kind, and gentle, to the angry bastard he was right now.

As soon as Wendy O. had left with Peach in tow, the red plumber had made a mad dash to save her, ordering the flower princess to take care of his younger brother. Roy had gone after him soon after, stopping the man just in time to avoid any confrontations with koopas, Bob-ombs, and even lava. They had been lucky to only spot a few koopa guards on the way, which Mario easily took care of, quite a bit too fast for Roy's liking. Now, they were heading towards Roy's home, the Koopa Castle, surrounded by a river of lava, that they both clearly avoided (even though Roy was technically resistant to lava, the last thing he wanted was to go for a swim, even if he didn't know how). **(2) **

The castle was still the same since he had last seen it, except this time it wasn't guarded by the regular koopa guards, but by Bullet Bill cannons, who guarded their every move. Roy was about to suggest a plan of some sort to evade the Bills, but Mario didn't even bother to hear him. Jumping and dodging towards the gates, the plumber quickly took care of the Bullet Bills that went his way(although they were the ones that took care of blowing themselves up if they hit the ground or other hard surface nearby). **(3) **Roy grumbled under his breath, and used the plumber's rather bad example at evading the Bills. Finally, both reached the gates of the castle, which were opening slowly allowing them to get in. The two of them exchanged looks, but they didn't have time to argue, as they made it straight towards the castle yard. They weren't greeted by a very welcoming party once they got there.

Wendy O. , still on top of her Clown Car, guarded the second entrance to the castle. With her was King Boo, who still looked the same since Mario and Roy had last seen him. They were also greeted by a huge Bowser robot**(4) **that was surrounded by a group of 'possessed' Boos. Mario was glaring daggers at Wendy O. as she spoke, the latter oblivious to his anger. **"Hohoho!" **she laughed humorlessly. **"If it isn't plumber boy and Mr. Idiot!!" **

"WHERE'S PEACH, KOOPA!?" Mario cried, venom dripping from his voice. Wendy's eyes widen for a moment, apparently surprised by this strange anger, but it was short lived.

"**Oh, so plumber boy wants the wench, huh? Well, too bad! Come and get her!!" **Wendy O. snapped her fingers, catching the attention of King Boo. **"Do your thing, Kingy! NOW!!" **The Boo nodded at the female koopa, and turned to face his servants.

"Follow…orders…King…orders…fight…and get rid of…Mario…and Roy…." King Boo told them, in that zombie like voice, before he began to spin once more. Mario and Roy braced themselves, already knowing what was about to happen, as the King of Boos began to absorb the others into his body. However, instead of transforming into that giant Bowser copy, the Boos, still in the form of a spinning tornado, went straight inside the robot before them. The robot began to glow a bit, and then, as if it had been brought back to life, the Bowser robot began to move around, as if it was a real koopa and not just some cheap robot. Screws and small metal plates flew, but still the robot remained whole. It's eyes blinked at the plumber and koopa before it, and then, it gave a loud roar.

"**GAAAARRRRRRRAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYY!!!" **Mario and Roy exchanged worried glances, not really expecting the Boos to do this.

"**Ladies and idiots," **Wendy O. said, as she took her place beside the Bowser robot, her cannon ready upon the lips of her Clown Car. **"Meet my dearest, Mecha Blue Terror!!" **Below, the pink shelled koopa rolled his eyes.

"How original…" Roy mumbled under his breath, as he and Mario prepared themselves, hoping that this fight wouldn't kill them. "Ready?" he asked the plumber, who nodded, his anger all evaporated into worry.

It was the Bowser robot who attacked first, trying to get rid of the two by using its large metallic claws, not caring if more screws and metal plates fell from its body. Mario and Roy easily evaded the rather clumsy attacks, but were forced to continue with that strategy as the robot didn't give them a chance to attack. They could hear Wendy O.'s snickers from their place down below, and Roy couldn't help but glare at his sister that floated above in her vehicle of death. He almost got hit by one of the cheap robot's deadly claws, had not Mario moved him out of the way.

"We need to do something…" Mario whispered to the koopa, as they were dodging another claw attack.

"Like what? This guy hardly lets us touch him!" Roy whispered back, ducking another claw move.

"This thing looks ready to fall apart! We can hit him!" Mario told him, pointing at the fallen screws and metal plates nearby. Those were soon joined by more of their own when Mecha Blue tried to attack them again. As soon as the claw was in the ground, Mario quickly jumped, and using his two fists, hit the claw. Metal twisted and turned, and before long, Mecha Blue's hand fell to the ground. Mario and Roy grinned at each other, but their celebration was short lived, as the hand floated back to its place, and attached itself back to its owner.

"**GAAAAARRRRRAAAYYYYY!!" **Mecha Blue roared, quickly slashing at them. Both barely dodged the metallic claws on time. Roy, quickly got inside his shell and began to spin, trying to catch the robot by surprise. Mecha Blue stepped on Roy's spinning shell, which took out its foot. The robot stood balancing on one foot, and Mario was about to hit its hand again, when suddenly, as the hand did before, the foot returned back to its owner. Mecha Blue took this as its chance, and hit Mario, hard. The plumber managed to hold his ground, as Roy joined him.

"**SUCH A BAAAAADDD STRATEGY!!" **Wendy O. mocked them, as she giggled. **"LET ME SEE YOU DANCE!!" **

"We gotta do something, and fast!!" Roy cried, as he and Mario dodged another claw heading their way. Keeping a safe distance away from the robot, well at least before it came by, Mario raised a hand. His hand glowed red, before he released a fire ball. The fire ball hit the robot's stomach, making it go back a few steps, the plumber quickly created another fire ball to hit the robot again. Following Mario's example, Roy opened his mouth and released a large trail of fire towards the robot. Mecha Blue went a little farther back, apparently affected by the flames.

"**GAAAAAARRRRRRRAAAAAAYYYYYY!!" **Opening its metallic(and barely held together) mouth, Mecha Blue released a trial of blue flames towards the other two. Mario and Roy moved out of the way, stopping their attacks altogether. **"GAAAARRRRAAYY!!" **The two heroes had to quickly outrun the blue flame, before it hit them. Wendy O. laughed as she saw them from her place up in the Clown Car.

"**Boohoo!! Can't beat the heat, boys? Allow me to add a little refreshment!!" **Before Roy and Mario knew it, two Bullet Bills made their way towards them, evading the small legs of the Bowser robot. Mario and Roy quickly dodged the two Bills, only to be hit by the large metallic claws of Mecha Blue. The two fell to the ground, and watched in horror as two Bullet Bills made their way towards them. Mario and Roy quickly rolled out of the way, as the Bills crashed against the ground. **"HAHAHAHA! So much fun!!" **Two more Bullet Bills made their way towards the two, who still had to recover. The Bills moved closer and closer, Mario and Roy barely had them coming towards them, as the Bowser robot prepared to attack. Then…**BBBBOOOOOOMMMM!!!**

"I don't think so!!" Mario, Roy, and Wendy O. gasped in shock as Luigi flew nearby.**(5)** Daisy held unto him by two hands, while the plumber carried her with one hand, preparing to attack with his free hand. The green plumber sent two green fire balls towards the Bowser robot, catching its attention.

"LUIGI!" Mario cried, getting up, to see his brother evade the metallic claws of the robot koopa as he flew in the air. The man quickly flew towards Wendy O. , and quickly attracted the attention of one of the Bullet Bills that was supposed to be going towards Mario and Roy. He made the Bill go round and round, evading the claws of the koopa in the process, before the Bill, in a wrong move, hit Mecha Blue. A huge hole was made on the metal, causing some Boos to drop to the ground out of the inside of the robot and disappear, and in turn paralyzed Mecha Blue. Wendy O. screeched as she saw this.

**  
"NOT FAIR! NOT FAIR!! TAKE THIS!!" **More Bullet Bills came out of the Clown Car's cannon, going straight towards Luigi and Daisy, only to explode when two red fire balls hit them, making Wendy O. screeched louder, stomping her foot inside of her Clown Car.

Mario grinned at Luigi, as he landed nearby, Daisy soon touched the floor, and grinned up at them. "Need a hand?" she asked them.

"We sure do!" Luigi and Mario exchanged happy glances, before Wendy O.'s voice interrupted their happy reunion.

"**DIEEEE ALREADYYYY!!" **Two more Bullet Bills went towards them, but Luigi and Mario took care of them with their fire balls. Mecha Blue, finally free of its paralyzing spell, shook its head and roared at them. Luigi quickly looked up at the robot, and then quickly called the others.

"We have to blow up that thing!"

"What do you think we have been trying to do!?" Roy asked him, angrily. The group evaded a huge stream of fire, which the pink shelled koopa countered with his own flame. Luigi and Mario took care of the Bills, before the green plumber spoke again.

"Those Boos will be knocked out if we make thing blow up," he explained. Luigi pointed at Wendy O.'s Clown Car. "And Wendy can help us."

"But, how?" Mario asked him, as he and Luigi blew up more Bills. They all glanced at Roy, who was struggling to keep up with Mecha Blue's flame; they had to hurry.

"Roy and…" Luigi sent an uncertain look at Daisy, but she grinned and nodded. "…and Daisy, can distract that robot and you and I, can take care of the Bills."

"But…I can't--" Before Mario could speak, however, Luigi, from his pocket, took out a small feather, which he gave to Mario. **(6) **As soon as Mario caught the feather, the red plumber began to grow a red cape from his back, with the letter 'M' printed on its back.

"Now, you can!" Mario smiled, and both brother shook hands, before they took to the air, catching Wendy O.'s attention. The female koopa growled in rage, as she pressed the buttons inside her Clown Car, releasing even more Bullet Bills. Apparently, the koopa was so angry that she hardly knew what she was doing, which was a good thing…for them, and not for her.

Below them, Roy and Daisy mocked and dodged Mecha Blue, as the robot came after them, visibly oblivious to the two flying plumbers in the air, who in turn mocked the robot's master. Bill after Bill, they hit the robot, paralyzing it, but showing no mercy. More Boos retreated and disappeared from their new home inside the robot, making the cheap robot, really look super cheap. The only thing that remained was the robot's head, missing its lower jaw. Luigi and Mario, nodding in the air, attracted the attention of Mecha Blue's head, who gave an inaudible growl, before it floated towards them. Before Wendy O. and those down below knew it, Mecha Blue's head was heading straight towards the Clown Car, and the female koopa appeared to be out of ammo. **"EEEEKKKKK!!! EEEEEEKKK! DON'T YOU DARE COME NEAR ME!!" **She cried from inside the Clown Car, trying to find the exit, her hysteria not helping her in finding it. The two Mario brothers didn't stop, and soon, went out of the way, only for Mecha Blue's head to crash against the Clown Car. Flying away from the explosion, the two brothers landed nearby Roy and Daisy, who were a bit tired on evading the once huge robot. They looked back at the reminder of metal and the unconscious form of Wendy O., who only whined in protest on the floor. "No…no…fair…" she grumbled. Surrounding the area, the large King Boo lay unconscious, with his tongue sticking out. Mario and the others, sparing a glance at the fallen koopa and Boo, quickly entered the great Castle, never looking back.

* * *

**Some things to point out first!**

**1-Okay, this one is already obvious...it is always the same thing. Running to save Peach...every four or five games.**

**2-If I remember correctly, Bowser is resistant to lava...I think...I'm not exactly too sure about this one though...but if I got it wrong, well, too bad...I ain't going to correct it. **

**3-Delicate Bombs...as most of us know...and quite annoying too. **

**4-I think the name for this guy is Mecha Bowser, and he first appears in Super Mario Sunshine...Yep, its that cheap robot Bowser Jr. uses to fight Mario...**

**5-If you remember Chapter four, Luigi as Mr. L, had the ability to fly. And since Luigi is still in his Mr. L get up, he still has the cape. **

**6-I finally figured up what this thing is called! It is called the Cape Feather...well, maybe I will correct my mistake later on..but, for this time once, just pretend the P-Wing is the same as the Cape Feather...**

Phew...after that author's note, this is were the chapter ends! I hope this one doesnt disappoint, and any advice you guys can give me to improve this chapter can really help, if you have any to offer that is...

Hope you leave a review, and please forgive my writer's block for being so late!


	22. Chapter 22

Fyras14: Chapter 22 here, people...do forgive me for the rather small or big delay...I had trouble starting this chapter...it took me over two days to get it right...first I thought of doing it only from Luigi's prespective, but that kinda got messed up a little...no matter what I did, I never could quite do it for this chapter...and at the end the chapter ended up being this short...no boss fight yet, next chapter is a Luigi and Mario fight chapter with some Roy and Ludwig added to the mix.

Any opinions you guys could offer to make this chapter better would be great! And...sorry if the chapter is rather short and some parts of the dialogue a bit tad cheesy...

Please read and review, or criticize, whicever comes first. Flames are not accepted, frowned upon and possibly deleted.

_

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All for one and one for all  
My brother and my friend  
What fun we have  
The time we share  
Brothers 'til the end._

**-Unknown**

**Chapter 22: Battalion **

Ludwig sat on his throne, waiting. He played with his large hammer, twirling with his hands, as gentle growls echoed in the room. "Patience…patience…" Ludwig murmured, smiling as he spoke. "They are coming…by now, Wendy should have fallen to the my brother's hand and Mario's…King Boo…must be agonizing…the fool. The group is heading this way, now…and if Luigi is already gone…the better…another rat dies with the experiment…victory will soon be ours…or rather," the koopa glanced at the shadows behind the throne, and snickered. "mine." A growl emanating an unknown emotion was the shadows' response, making Ludwig shake his head, as he turned his attention towards the door before him.

They were coming…and he would kill them. He would savor Mario's and his brother's death as if they were some sort of rare dishes that were only made for him to taste. This will be his revenge against the plumber for defeating him all those years ago, to Bowser, whom he was using to destroy his own foe, before his son destroyed the koopa. He chuckled to himself as the door to his throne room opened, in a rather brutal way.

Roy kicked one of the doors opened, his face concealed by rage. Behind him, Mario and Luigi, followed along by the Sarasaland princess, entered the chamber, all glaring at Ludwig. The king only glanced at them, visibly amused. "BASTARD!!" The pink shelled koopa cried, showing his older brother some of his sharp teeth.

"Roy…and his dear companions…what a pleasant surprise," Ludwig told them, completely ignoring Roy's insult. Mario walked up next to Roy, also glaring at the koopa king, as he leaned against his throne.

"Ludwig! Where's Peach!?" he demanded, causing Ludwig to chuckle.

"I fear I cannot tell you, plumber…she isn't available…for the moment." He faced Luigi, who gave him a rather guilt-ridden glare. It would appear the green plumber was back to his normal self. "So…you have betrayed me now, Mr. L?"

"I'm not Mr. L anymore, Ludwig! I never would have joined you!!" Luigi shot back, his cheeks growing red.

"But, you hardly seemed to complain when you joined me!" Luigi opened his mouth to speak, only to close it again. The green plumber faced the ground, his fists shaking. Daisy put a hand on his shoulder, and glared daggers back at Ludwig.

"Leave my brother alone, koopa!!" Mario yelled, raising a fist in the air, already it was glowing red.

"Ah, now the brother protects the one that wanted to kill him? How amusing…"

"How dare yo--"

"But, I'm correct am I not? He wanted to kill you, as well as--"

"ENOUGH TALK, BASTARD!!" Roy cried, knowing full well what his older sibling wanted to do. "We ain't here for pleasantries, ya know!?" Ludwig only turned to face him, an amused smile on his face.

"Ah, really? So, are you all ready to die? How wonderful…" He quickly got up on his throne, and raised his hammer. "Then…shall we begin the show, father?" The group glanced at each other in confusion at the mention of the previous Koopa King. That couldn't be right….could it?

"**RRROOOOOOOAAAAARRRRRGGGGAAAAYYYYY!!" **The sudden roar shook the room itself, forcing Mario and the others to shrink back a little. They all watched wide eyed as the shadows behind Ludwig's throne seem to take form. Mario gasped as he recognized his rival and enemy before him. Bowser had taken a grotesque form, and was glaring at them, some smoke escaping his nostrils.

"DAD!?" Roy cried in shock, as he stared at the beast that was his father. The pink shelled koopa then looked back at Ludwig, who only grinned maliciously at the group of fools. "What…what you do to him, you freaking bastard!?" The older of the Koopalings merely shrugged.

"Nothing…I just gave him power…" Ludwig told him, as the King took a step towards the group. Luigi put himself between Daisy and the Bowser beast, Mario standing by his side. The two brothers looked uneasy at each other. This wasn't going to be an easy fight. Roy took a step forward, his mouth letting some fire escape, his anger reaching new heights.

"WHY YOU!!" He let a parade of flames escape him, but Bowser released his own parade of flames towards his own son. Both flames fought against each other, before they died out. Luigi and Mario let their own fire hit against the beast, but the attacks seem to not hurt the colossal beast. Bowser turned to face his foes, and gave another roar, as if laughing, Ludwig roared in laughter along with him.

"Hahahaha!! Is that the best you can do!?" he cried, as he jumped off of the throne, hammer in his hands. "Get rid of them!" The king of Koopas ordered the beast, who only roared again, as if saying yes. Ludwig gave them a charming smiled, and a mocking bow. "It was nice to see you again, miscreants, but I'm afraid this is where I bolt…good day…and good death! Hahahaha!!" Ludwig turned away from the group, and made a mad dash away, causing Roy to roar in anger.

"COWARD! COME BACK!!" Before the pink shelled koopa could take a daring step towards the beast that was his father, the other three dragged him back.

"Are you nuts!?" Daisy cried, as she and Luigi held the pink shelled koopa by the left arm. "You're being an idiot, Roy! You go any closer than needed to Bowser guy there, and he stomps you!!"

"She's right, Roy!" Mario instructed, holding unto his other arm, and glancing at the beast before them, who still had yet to make his move. "We need to get rid of this guy, fast!!"

"But, how?" Luigi asked, his body was shaking a bit. That feeling of fear had returned. _Now it's not the time to be afraid, Luigi! _The plumber told himself mentally, as the beast took a step towards the group. _Ok-okay…take a deep breath…calm yourself…try to control argue to run away from this place when the chance presents itself…_ Daisy noticed the sudden shaking from her friend, and gave him a squeeze in his shoulder. The green plumber blinked at that, and then, turned to face her, giving her a shy smile. Daisy grinned and nodded, she leaned closer to the plumber's head and whispered,

"Don't worry, Luigi…we can do this…" Somehow, her words were comforting and that shaking feeling stopped.

"I ain't gonna wait around here, when Ludwig scrams!!" Roy cried, glaring at the beast that was once his father. He turned to face the others, his face mixed with determination and rage. " I don't wanna fight dad, but I wanna kill Ludwig." Mario and the others glanced at each other, understanding what the Koopaling wanted to do. Mario was the first to speak up.

"Be careful, then…Roy…if I know Ludwig, he's got more up his sleeve than a few koopas…" Roy nodded, and glanced at Daisy.

"Hey, lady!"

"Yes?"

"Don't wanna be rude or nothin' but--"

"**RRRRROOOOOOAAAARRRRGYYAAAAHHHH!!" **roared Bowser behind them, reminding them, that he was still around. Roy and the brothers prepared to fight him, but before Roy could continue with what he was saying, Luigi beat him to it.

"Listen, Daisy," he told her, glancing at Bowser before him. "…you can't fight here…" Instead of pouting or appearing insulted, Daisy nodded. She understood what Luigi meant.

"I know…I will just be a bother to you, guys…"

"…sorry…"

"It's alright, Luigi…besides…" she glanced at a set of stairs that led up to some unknown room. "Peach needs to be found, yeah?" Mario gave her a grateful look, and the group saw her off, catching the Bowser's attention before he could unleash an attack. The creature only roared at them, before he decided to attack the group with his rather large claws, Roy and Luigi jumped out of the way, and Mario rolled away, causing one of the large claws to hit the floor and get stuck on the stone. The red plumber quickly turned to face Roy.

"QUICK, ROY!! Go after Ludwig, me and Luigi will fight Bowser!!" The pink shelled koopa nodded, and quickly ran towards the way where Ludwig had disappeared to. After the koopa left, Mario and Luigi watched as Bowser released his stuck claw, and then, it roared at them again. "Ready, bro?" Mario asked his brother, as the beast came closer to them.

"…almost…" Another roar was enough, before the Bowser jumped towards them.


	23. Chapter 23

Fyras14: Hello folks! It sure has been a while since I really updated this story! I finally got my train of thought back! Good thing too, since I was beginning to forget about the plot. Okay, this chapter will be switching a few points of view...I think I did that part wrong, but I had to double check this chapter a lot of times, so it must be free of any grammar erros(hopefully). I do want to apologize for not updating in such a long time...after I lost my notes I kinda was on a lost on what to do...

Okay, first off, this chapter has a more guilt in it than you can image...I finally dealt with Luigi's guilt, and at the same time took care of his fear...because, fear doesnt just go away that easily, does it?

Ludwig and Roy scene at the end as well, more from the new King of Koopas POV, than anything else...you are realizing his reaching the end of his conquest...eventually he will...

Anyway, onward with the chapter, and dont forget to read the author's note, too!

Please read and review, or criticize, whichever comes first. Flames are not accepted, frowned upon, and possibly deleted.

_

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Obstacles are like wild animals. They are cowards but they will bluff you if they can. If they see you are afraid of them... they are liable to spring upon you; but if you look them squarely in the eye, they will slink out of sight. _

**-Orison Swett Marden**

**Chapter 23: Thunderous Fear **

Luigi gulped as the huge Bowser creature glared at him and his brother. What little courage he had left when Daisy had comforted him was gone now, the sight of the creature before him too overwhelming to ignore. Unfortunately, fear wasn't the only thing that was overwhelming his mind, but it wasn't just fear that plagued his mind, but guilt as well. The guilt about betrayal.

He replayed Ludwig's words over and over again in his mind, wondering if all that the koopa said was true. Daisy had told him her part of the story, his foggy memory had filled up the gaps that remained, only to find out that Ludwig's words had been true. He had betrayed his brother, Peach, her kingdom, and most importantly, Daisy. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he had done all of this things and never felt bad about it. While the Green Thunder was no more in his mind nor in his body, he could still feel the effects of his presence in his world. He had betrayed himself even, when he had let the Green Thunder take over his weak mind, the days of stress taking its toll on him. Dimentio, Count Bleck, his brainwashing…even the fact that he played part in trying to kill his brother, and destroying the whole universe pained him. Luigi had gone through many things those awful days, and that had been enough to fuel his other persona with rage and power…Luigi had allowed Mr. L into his world just because he had felt a bit tad jealous of his own brother's courage and fame. He was not well-known like him, he wasn't brave, nor powerful, nor the first player in the adventure. **(1) **He was just, Luigi. Luigi the second guy stuck at second base, the coward, the unpopular, the puny, little old Luigi. Those many traits described him, and because he had felt weak, Luigi had let the Green Thunder take over him, because for just once, one small moment, Luigi wished that he was his brother's equal, but never would have he thought that to be his equal, he had to fight him first. A game were no one wins. And Luigi had almost lost his brother due to his jealousy and weakness. Yet, Mario had forgiven him for what he had done to the red plumber, offered gentle words and the such, but, did Luigi really forgive himself for all that he did, even as he faced the monster before him? He didn't know, and he might never know.

Now, as the guilt and fear took him by storm, the evil creature slowly walked towards him and Mario, eyes glaring like if there were no tomorrow, making Luigi lose all the composure he had managed to piece together for that flattering moment. Mario had noticed this action, and gave him a quick pat in the shoulder, as the Bowser beast prepared to attack. Luigi glanced a bit at his brother, and nodded shakily. 'We can do it, Luigi' was the simple message that Mario's pat had said to the younger brother, and it was enough for Luigi to let his fear subside for just a little while, but that was enough to give him strength as he jumped away from the huge claw that dare to squash him and end his life.

"**ROOOOOOOOAAAAAARRRRRRGGGAAAYYYY!!" **the Bowser beast roared, as he moved in to attack Mario and Luigi once more. Luigi quickly ducked out of the way, almost covering his head with both hands in the process, but he had to control himself. If he showed at least an ounce of fear, Luigi knew that he was not going to hold for long. Fear was his worst enemy, with him, being the easy target that fear could take advantage of, hold him down, and most possibly destroy him, little by little. The poor old plumber had learned the lesson the bad way back at that Haunted Mansion with King Boo, and he tried his best not to feel or know fear. He knew fear was the least of his problems at this moment, as he evaded another attack sent by the Bowser beast. The green plumber glanced at his brother, as he prepared to punch the creature, only to find out later after punching the Bowser beast close to its stomach, that his new body was as tough as the coldest and hardest steel ever made by Toads or men. The Bowser creature seemed to laugh as Mario grabbed his injured gloved hand and cried, 'Mama mia!' over and over again in pain.

"Mario!!" Luigi cried, as he went to his brother's aid, only to find a large claw blocking his way. The green plumber looked straight in the eyes of the Bowser, the fear was rising again, but he managed to shake it off in time, as the beast opened his mouth, releasing a huge blast of fire, that Luigi barely managed to evade. His cape, however, had caught in fire, forcing the green plumber to get rid of it before he caught on fire. Luigi barely managed to evade the slash that the evil creature sent his way, but, he wasn't so lucky when the Bowser beast hit him with his other claw, knocking the air out of his lungs. He could hear his brother cry out for him, only to be cut short by being punched by the evil beast's claw.

On the other side, Mario groaned in pain, as he slammed against the nearby wall. The Bowser beast had completely ignored the red plumber, and was now roaring at his younger brother, who lay defenseless on the floor, trapped by the beast's large claw. He jumped towards the Bowser beast, and then, slammed his two fists on top of the beast's head. The Bowser beast suddenly blinked in surprise, and then, fell back, releasing Luigi. He grabbed his head with one claw, and tried to get Mario with the other, but he was far too slow. The red plumber quickly jumped on top of him, and then, with a great jump, stomped the Bowser creature's head, which made the latter growl in great pain. Soon, the fight continued, this time between the two long time foes, with Mario evading the slashes and roars of the Bowser beast, with his young brother looking on.

Luigi watched as his brother fought against his transformed foe, remembering the many times he was left behind so Mario could go in an adventure to save the Kingdom and the princess. He watched his brother flawlessly defeat other enemies before, without breaking a sweat, but, this fight…it was different. His brother was angry, almost furious, and at the same time, scared. He was scared…a new feeling that the green plumber rarely saw in the heroic man. Fear of what? He had faced off against the great Bowser himself before, and lived to tell the tale. Maybe it was the irony of this whole situation; here he was fighting his worst enemy, an enemy he felt no ill will to, nor fear, but now, now that his foe had been transformed to a hideous beast, fear plagued Mario's mind. Luigi could recognize that kind of fear, not the kind he was usually familiar with. A fear that said so little and yet so much. He was afraid to lose, but he was afraid to win, too. It was another game of nobody wins, and Mario was losing it.

The red plumber paced for a small moment, and couldn't see the claw hovering above him, hardly taking notice of its shadow encircling his small body below. Mario just looked on at his foe, suddenly remembering who was the real villain, and regretting the fact that he was fighting him, when he should be fighting Ludwig, the real cause of this whole ordeal…but, life never was a heroes' feast. You couldn't pick a roasted chicken leg nor pick the salad, because you always had to start with dessert first; sweet and sour later. As he stood there contemplating about things, he didn't notice the claw dropping towards him, and hardly paid attention as Luigi stood up and faced the creature, deciding to forget his fear for just this once, as he rushed to push his brother out of the way.

It didn't take long for Mario to register what was happening, but he had little time to react as he was pushed aside, and watched in raising horror as the claw slammed against his younger brother. It then took him two seconds to realize that Luigi was fighting to keep the claw as high up as possible over his head, and glanced at his brother, shaking all over, not out of fear, but out of fighting spirit. And then, Mario knew, he was ready to begin the fight anew.

Even if no one was going to win, it made no damn sense if you lose a life in vain, right? **(2)**

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Roy huffed a bit, as he recovered his breath. Ludwig stood just a few steps ahead of him, grinning like the mad koopa he was, as if waiting for the moment when the pink shelled koopa ran out of breath and collapsed, rolling down the stairs like some sort of empty barrel. Not like he was complaining.

"You little reptile," Roy spat, growling a bit, letting a little smoke fill his nostrils. Oh, how he missed the feeling of a good flame burning the crap out of some idiot…

"Now, now, Roy," Ludwig scolded, shaking a finger at him, as if he had been the naughty child in the game. "Don't go around insulting your new king!"

"SCREW YOU!!" Roy let the flame that had been forming on his mouth fly, groaning in distaste as the fire ball was easily avoided by Ludwig, who only laughed like the damn broken record he was.

"You have to do better than that! BRAT!" Raising the hammer he carried with him, the oldest of the Koopalings tried to hit the pink shelled koopa, but he was much too slow, Roy realized, and easily evaded the hammer, who in to compensate for missing so much, it made holes among the walls nearby. Ludwig growled in frustration, and walked a few steps up, realizing that the space was so small he could hardly get a punch across, much less a good hammer hit. "You think this is the end!?" the koopa cried, as he made his way higher up into the tower, with Roy not too far behind. "You think you got me, you whelp!?"

"Open your eyes, Ludwig!" Roy cried, evading the hammer as its head came crashing down, destroying part of the stairs. "You have the whole world against you! You are surrounded, or whatever shit! You lost it!"

"Hahahaha!! That is where you are wrong, my dear, dear Roy!! I have lost nothing! Soon, the old shelled koopa shall kill the Mario Bros., and then, I shall kill you and everything will go as planned!" Roy stared in disgust at his older brother, and wondered if he was more broken than an old warp pipe. He didn't have to wonder much, however, as another swing of the hammer almost got him on the head. "I SHOULD HAVE BEEN MADE THE SUCCESSOR!!" Ludwig cried, his voice resonating all over the dense corridor of stairs. He swung his hammer madly, trying to catch Roy off guard, but he was much too fast. "I AM A PERFECT RULER!!"

"More like a screwed up one!" Roy yelled back, jumping away from the hammer's head that dug itself deep on the stone steps. "You have a nerve already baking itself, Ludwig! Jealously isn't getting us nowhere!! You dirty slime ball!!"

"SHUT UP!! SHUT UP!!" Ludwig cried, already realizing that something was going terribly wrong with his plan. If he failed here, he failed forever.

Ludwig would be the failure.

He would be the leftover of a warrior who had failed in his goal.

He was weak. He was—

No. Ludwig wouldn't be weak. He had done too much to reach this point. The new Koopa King wasn't going to let a pink shell, and a group of goody two shoes get in his way. No. He was going to lead this to its last consequences, knowing that he was going to win. And so, with that thought in mind, Ludwig turned to run up towards the tower, with Roy calling behind him, warning him that he had little time to give up this charade of his. Ludwig didn't care, for he knew that if this risky decision failed, he would fail.

And to a genius, failure wasn't an option.

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**Some things to point out!**

**1- First off, I do remember using this second player mention in another chapter back, I think...so you guys would possibly realize the meaning I'm trying to pull off here...here is Luigi's moment of weakness...**

**2-I just hated to fall down some hole, get beaten up by some turtle, and then be back to the start of the level...I always hated that in the Mario games, if I never managed to reach the checkpoint, I was doomed to repeat myself...so that's what exactly this means...you die here, you won't get second chances...this is where the road meets the goal...and all that stuff...**

Alright, after that small some things to point out note...I want to say sorry, again...for not updating as I should be...but, in a couple of days you might see an update, or you might not...but, I will get to updating back again, eventually...anyway, read and review, please!


	24. Chapter 24

Fyras14: Hello, everyone that bothers to click on this story! Chapter 24 is here...phew, and about time, too...Okay, this chapter had to be cut down greatly, due to some reasons that would get explained on the other author's note at the end of the chapter...

The end is approaching and the final confrontation steals the spotlight...phew...I still haven't found my notes, so I have to make the thing as I go, with whatever I remember from the plot...this chapter became extra long, not counting the parts I had to cut off, but, this is a mostly Mario and Luigi chapter...with a little of Daisy, Peach, and Junior added to the mix.

Please read and review, or criticize, whichever comes first. Flames are not accepted and possibly deleted.

Another note: YES! Finally this story gets a good hundred reviews...and that is saying something...this is the second of my stories to obtain more than a hundred reviews, and that makes me happy! Thanks for the reviews, everyone!

And now, to Chapter 24...

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I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do. _

**-Harper Lee,** _To Kill a Mockingbird_

**Chapter 24: Between A Koopa and A Hard Place**

Luigi fought against the argue to groan in pain, as the claw that lingered over his head. Pain shot from every corner of his body, the weight of the claw too much for him to take. The green plumber watched from the corner of his left eye, as Mario jumped towards the evil Bowser monster, and hit him somewhere up high that the younger of the two brothers couldn't see, but, was rather surprised when he heard a cry of pain, and the claw's weight leaving his hands. Before he could say anything, Mario went running towards him, grabbing him by the arm and dragging him away before the evil creature could hit him with his other claw.

Both brothers escaped to the nearby wall, barely missing the sweep of the gigantic tail that the evil Bowser creature wore, as it spun to try to hit them with his last resort of a weapon. Mario and Luigi tried to slow their breathing, before the older of the two brothers finally spoke up, "We got—huff—to hit him—huff—in his head—huff!!" Mario cried, pointing a shaking finger towards the koopa beast.

"…We need a plan, though…" Luigi told him, weakly, having regained his breath after Mario spoke. "This guy is already familiar with our moves…he might use that against us…"

"Yeah, I know…so we have to…do our thing, bro…" Mario grinned back at his brother, who grinned back. Despite the situation, both brothers found time to smile at each other, before glaring back at the roaring beast that was once the Koopa King. "I got an idea…" the red plumber whispered, watching as the Bowser monster crept towards them.

"Yeah?" Luigi asked, leaning hard against the stone wall, shivering a bit, at the coming koopa beast.

"Let's scatter…he's too slow…we have a chance…"

"O-okay…umm…I go right, right?" **(1)**

"Yep!" Mario and Luigi ran their respective ways, before the giant koopa monster could slash them with its large claws. The only thing that the beast managed to do, was created a huge mark of its presence on the stone wall.

"**ROOOOOOOAAAAAARRRRRGGGGGAAAYYYY!!" **the beast cried, obviously in pain of some sort. Turning quickly around, it was met with a well placed kick by Luigi, who managed to spin around, and jump out of the way, before the Bowser beast roared and tried to grab him with its claw. The green plumber quickly made his way out of the evil monster's reach, as it tried to stomp him. As the koopa was too busy trying to stomp the younger of the two plumbers, that it didn't notice Mario climbing on its spiky shell. By the time the Bowser beast noticed the red plumber on top of him, it received a good punch right in between the eyes. **"RROOOOOOOWWWWWWW!! ROOOOWWWEEERRROOOOWWW!!" **the Bowser beast growled in pain, shaking itself all over the place, trying to take Mario to the ground, but the man managed to hold unto one of the monster's curved horns.

"Mario!" Luigi cried, evading as the koopa crashed against the wall, dropping Mario at last. The red plumber managed to land safely, but, he barely evaded a slash from the evil monster. The koopa managed to catch some clothes and make a few scratches, but that still wasn't enough. Mario and Luigi gasped in surprise, as they were forced to evade the angry slashes from the Bowser beast, barely being able to dodge them in time. It roared in anger, as it went up again, only to be hit by a pair of red and green fireballs, that got it straight in the eyes. The monster cried out in pain, as it went to grab its face, only to be stopped by Luigi and Mario, who both, sent a good kick straight into the koopa's jaw, making it trip and fall back. One last cry of pain was all that was heard, before the whole room shook with silence.

The two brothers glanced at each other, and then, back at their unmoving foe that lay with its back on the ground. After a moment, Luigi broke the silence, "Did…did we beat him?" he asked.

"I-I don't know…when I fought one of these guys powered up by that strange power…they usu--"

"**GOOOOGGGGOOOORRRRRAAAYYYYY!!" **Suddenly, the koopa gave out a loud cry, as its whole body hid within its shell. Mario and Luigi had little time to register what was happening, before the spiky shell began to spin, going faster than its owner before it. Both brothers yelped in pain, as they were hit by the hard shell, getting knocked to the sky, before falling hard on the floor, only to be hit again by the rampaging shell.** (2) **

Luigi was the first to recover after the second hit, and quickly, grabbed his still dazed brother by the arm, moving him away from another rampaging shell attack. "Ow…owowowowowow…" Mario whispered, as he shook the pain away, or at least tried to. He looked back at the spinning koopa, who was now rampaging across the other side of the room. "This isn't good…"

"This guy's using his size against us," Luigi observed, as he and his brother moved towards the throne, on higher ground, in order to avoid getting hit. "If we don't find a way to stop his spinning, then he will find a way to catch us…" he said, flinching a bit, as the shell crashed against the upper ground, crushing whatever stood on its way, but still leaving it intact.

"And we have to find it fast," Mario replied, paying closer attention to the spinning shell as it crashed against the upper ground again. "before he finds a way to make us go down ag—wait, do you see that, bro?" Luigi blinked at his brother in confusion, before he turned his attention towards the shell.

"What? What is it?"

"Look closely!" Mario cried, pointing at the spinning koopa shell, following it wherever it went with his small finger. "Is that the tail!?" Luigi blinked in surprise, as he watched the spinning shell come closer and closer to where they were.

True to Mario's words, the tail lay outside of the beast's protective shell, dangling as an extra weight, with crushing power. "It is…" the green plumber whispered, before turning back to his brother. "Bu-but, even if we grab the tail, what's to say we are gonna keep that guy from spinning?"

"We won't know until we try! Come on!" Jumping off the upper ground they were standing on, Mario quickly turned to face the spinning koopa shell. Luigi jumped after him, and also observed the rampaging shell and its tail. The tail barely made itself known to them, as the shell spun. It appeared like if they were watching a movie on no-good cable TV, but, Mario knew exactly what to do next.

Without warning, the red plumber lunged toward the tail, and managed to grab it. Instead of dragging the shell and its occupant like it was expected, the tail only took the young man with him, also spinning him around. "MARIO!!" Luigi cried, going to grab his brother by the legs fast, before he could spin any longer. Both brothers held unto the tail, with Luigi holding unto the red plumber's legs in order to not fly away to the nearest wall. Soon, however, the shell began to slow its speed, apparently the weight of the two Mario Bros. was causing it to lose its velocity. Seeing this as a chance, Mario and Luigi quickly grabbed the tail, and let their feet touch the ground, then, they pulled the shell to a stop. They heard a small roar of a squeak emanating from inside the shell, before the two brothers, as one, began to spin the shell off of the ground, spinning it around the air.

"ONE!" Mario cried to his brother, as they spun.

"T-TWO!" Luigi yelled back, nodding at his brother as the shell went up higher and higher up in the air. Mario took a deep breath, and nodding at Luigi, cried out,

"THREE!!"

"**ROOOOOOARRRR!" **Both brother let go of the tail, and watched as the shell went flying, still spinning, straight into a wall. In mere seconds, the shell dug into the wall, sticking into it, meanwhile getting a few cracks in the process. As the brothers stood watching over the shell, they were rather surprised to see it cracking even more, despite coming to a stop just seconds ago.

**CRRRRRRAAAAAACCCKKKKK! **The shell exploded, sending millions of little pieces towards the brothers, who quickly covered themselves from the blow, before looking up. There, standing before them was the Bowser beast, no longer wearing its shell, who lay half broken and half buried on the wall. The evil beast grinned at the two Mario brothers, and then, ran up to them, even faster than before. Neither Luigi nor Mario had time to recover, as the monster raised its claw and slash them with it. The two of them were sent flying, landing forcefully on the wall, groaning. They were unable to recover quickly, as another good sent slash sent them flying to the other side of the room, slamming against each other. As they groaned on the floor, the Bowser beast roared in laughter, amused by their pain.

"…that's good old Bowser, there…owowowowow…" Mario muttered, as he and Luigi stopped groaning, and stood up; the Bowser beast heading straight towards them, its claw up. The two brothers were quick to react, and moved their ways as the claw came in contact with the floor, creating a small crater on the floor; it glared at Mario before it removed its claw, and lunged towards the red plumber.

"Mario!" Luigi cried, jumping towards the koopa and hitting it hard on the back of the head before the beast could reach his brother. Instead of turning around and attacking the green plumber, who landed gracefully behind it, the Bowser beast roared in pain, using its two claws to cover its head. The two brothers exchanged confused glances, and then, looked back at the beast, who continued to grab its head in pain.**(3) **Both brothers nodded in unison, and then, ran towards the beast, and hit it with everything they got. The Bowser best tried in vain to slash at them, but the pain it was suffering on all sides was enough to distract it from attacking the brothers that were hitting the monster like mad, soon however, the brothers showed signs of exhaustion, and the Bowser beast still remained standing. "He's still standing!" Luigi cried, his arms hanging by his sides, as he tried to regain his breath, looking back at the beast that still stood before him and his older brother, roaring in pain like a never-ending record.

"He's too resistant," Mario noted, as he too, took a break from beating the monster up. "but, he will recover eventually…we gotta knock him out before that happens, get the real Bowser out!" The red plumber glared at the beast, as it roared and huffed in pain, trying to find an answer to their problems, but, he was too late, as the Bowser beast quickly let go of its head, and with a swift slash, threw Mario towards the throne that lay on the far side of the room. "HHYYYYYAAAA!" the plumber cried, slamming face first on the concrete that was half destroyed.

"MARIO!" Luigi cried frantically, ducking from a slash that the Bowser beast sent his way, before grabbing its tail, that dangled unprotected. Without warning, the green plumber began to spin around, taking the koopa with him. The Bowser beast tried to c law its way back to the ground, but could no longer reach the floor, as the hero in green spun the monster around, before letting it go, with a loud, "TAKE THIS!" going after it, as it crashed straight to where its shell lay buried. The Bowser beast gave one last cry, before it came down, the shell half buried upon its stomach, blank eyes glaring at Luigi from its spot on the floor. It took Luigi a moment to register what was going on, and a sick thought passed through his head. "Di…did I…kill him?" he asked fearfully, as his brother took his side.

"No…" Mario assured his brother, holding his shoulder firmly, but gently. Suddenly, the koopa on the floor began to glow, its shell, breaking slowly and becoming mere ashes, and then, a black Power Star came out of the destroyed shell, and then, cracked and shattered into pieces, which fell on the glowing body, who began to grow smaller and smaller in size, until, the glowing stopped to reveal the great King of the Koopa Troop, his eyes closed, snoring peacefully as if nothing had happened. Luigi breathed a sigh of relief, and smiled at his brother, who smiled at him. "Great job, bro…couldn't have done it better myself…"

"Thanks, Mario…" Both brothers looked back at the snoring koopa, before a loud agonizing screech spooked them.

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Daisy folded her arms in front of her chest, and tapped her foot angrily at the floor, rolling her eyes, as the two koopas, cowered away from her, leaning against a large wooden door, where Daisy assumed, Peach lay hidden. "Okay, nutcrackers," the princess began, removing her arms from their position, and going to crack her knuckles. Both koopas gulped nervously at seeing this action, and instead of moving, shook even more. "move it, or lose your shells in the process…your call."

"Y-yo-you're just a w-weak litt-little pr-princess! You ca-can't d-d-do any-anything agai-against us!!" one, covered in a red shell, cried. Daisy said nothing, as she continued to crack her knuckles, before grinning mischievously at the two.

"Try me, then…I'm not the kind of princess you nuts are used to," she told them. The red shelled koopa's companion, a blue shelled koopa, responded by fleeing the scene as fast as he could. His friend looked back at the fleeing koopa, and then back at Daisy. "Care to…try me?" the princess of Sarasaland asked the koopa, stopping with her knuckle cracking, to folding her arms over her chest again. Instead of responding, the red shelled koopa gave her a fearful look, and ran to catch after his friend. Daisy watched after the fleeing koopas and sighed. _Okay, this was the strangest moment I have had for a while…_she thought as she went to open the door, which opened flawlessly and without trouble.

She was rather surprised, when she found Peach leaning against the bars of a small cage, overlooking Bowser Jr.'s statue. "Peach!" Daisy cried, going over to help her fainted friend. The flower princess moved the other into a more comfortable position, and gently began to shake her. "Peach…Peach…come on, wake up, please…" Said princess only squirmed a bit, but continued on snoozing.

_She's asleep…_came Junior's voice from within the statue nearby, making Daisy look away from her friend to the small stoned koopa.

"What happened to her, kid?" the princess asked him.

_Wendy…happened…_little Junior told her, sniffing a bit. Daisy growled and then, sighed.

"She's the worst one, huh? Greedy, bitchy, and all of the above…" The flower princess moved a bit towards the cage, and found a way to open it, releasing the small koopa child from its clutches.

…_Thanks…but, it's not like its gonna…help much…_ Junior told her, to which Daisy brushed the comment aside.

"You say too much…now, I gotta wake Peach up…I know she's hurt…but she needs to wake up and smell the coffee…" Daisy moved to go and shake her friend, finally getting a reaction from her. Peach opened her eyes slowly, and gave a small gasp at seeing her friend over her. The flower princess was quickly caught off guard, as Peach gave her a weak hug, whispering,

"Oh, thank goodness…you are okay, Daisy…!" she cried, tightening her grip on Daisy, but still doing little to nothing at all. Daisy hugged her friend back softly, before both princesses separated from each other. "I thought you were…"

"Yeah, me too…luckily for me, Luigi saved me."

"Luigi? You mean he's…"

"Yep. He's back to same ol' Luigi…he and Mario are taking care of Bowser…but," the flower princess glanced a little towards the opened door, then looked back at Peach. "they must have already beaten that beast silly…"

_You mean, Papa's back to normal!? _Junior cried, reminding the two princesses that he was there. Daisy opened her mouth to say something when suddenly, a bloodcurdling scream made her and Peach almost jump.

"What the heck was that?" Daisy asked, after the scream had calmed down.

No one answered.

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**Somethings to point out!**

**1-If I remember correctly, in some arcade games(or in most) the position of the second player's life or points, is listed on the right...right? I don't really play much games with someone else this days, and I rarely play sometimes, too...so, here it is another mention of Luigi's 2nd player status**

**2-I remember doing this mega spin attack on SSBB and it was so badass! I did forget to add the ice that it created during the spin, because, well, I had some trouble with this fight...**

**3-Okay, here it is rather simple to explain; now that Giga Bowser no longer has his shell to protect him, every single part of his body is just as weak as his eye or tail...I did this remembering the koopas from those old Mario games, where you had to hop on top of the koopa's shell, take that out first, and then hop again on the koopa hitting right in its weakspot...**

Now, to explain why this chapter was shorten...

-Okay, I was planning to add another confortation with Wendy O., when Daisy found both Jr. and Peach, but I decided to scratch it out at the last moment, because well, it just didnt look right to see her again, and well, it just didnt seem to fit at this exact moment. Another thing I decided to cut out was the confrontation and fight, between both Ludwig and Roy, which I will post in the next chapter, instead...I felt like it was overkill to just add another fight...and well, those are the things I took out of this chapter...hope you guys don't mind.

Anyway, now that that is out of the way, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and please be kind enough to leave a review!


	25. Chapter 25

Fyras14: Hello, everyone...Chapter 25 is here...and still, I can;t find those darn notes...man...it will take a while to get the story done, but at least five or so chapters more and this story will reach its final turn...Whoa, I'm actually surprised I managed to make an update a few days after instead of about five months later...anyway, this is an exclusive Ludwig and Roy chapter...remember Ludwig breaking about a few chapters before, well...now you can guess that he went bad...already...anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and leave a review.

Please read and review, or criticize, whichever comes first. Flames are not accepted and possibly deleted.

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Anger is a killing thing: it kills the man who angers, for each rage leaves him less than he had been before - it takes something from him._

**-Louis L'Amour**

**Chapter 25: Madness and Anger**

Ludwig glared madly at the ground before him; a dead end created by the tower's crow, overlooked by the moon and a few clouds that could be seen passing by. _This is the last straw…_the koopa genius hissed within his mind, not daring to look back as his brother finally made his way towards where he stood. _This is the last straw…this is the LAST STRAW!! _Ludwig quickly turned to face his younger brother, a firm hold on his hammer. "This is the end, you fool! I SHALL BE THE VICTOR, AND YOU, SHALL BE THE FALLEN TROY THAT KNEELS BEFORE MY POWER!!" **(1) **

"Screw you, man!" Roy called back, some smoke coming out of his mouth. "I had enough of your bitchy moves!"

"Oh, but you have not seen anything yet! You shall see my true power, you fool! I shall destroy you, and everything!! And everyone!! HAAHAHAHA!!" Ludwig laughed, spitting some orange fire around him, small embers that did little to no damage to the roof underneath his feet.

"You lost it, man…" the pink shelled koopa grumbled, staring at his brother, a little pity rising from the his inside.

"I have lost nothing! NOTHING! Here me out, Roy! I AM THE KING OF THE KOOPAS! THE STRONGEST OF THEM ALL…I SHALL RULE THIS WORLD WITH MY MAGNIFICENCE…MY POWER!! I SHALL BECOME THE KING OF THE WORLD…AND NOTHING…NOTHING WILL STOP ME!!" The koopa cried, spitting more embers as he went on with his rant. **(2) **"WE…NO, I DESERVED MORE THAN TO SPENT MY DAYS AS A WATCH DOG FOR THAT PATHETIC KING!!"

"You moron! Don't you get it!? You've lost your mind, and your game!!" Roy roared back, cracking his knuckles as he shook his fists in anger. "This isn't about power anymore!! You lost! Get the idea!"

"NO…NO…LOSING IS NOT AN OPTION! I SPENT YEARS FOR THIS MOMENT…THE GLORIOUS MOMENT WHEN I WAS CROWNED KING OF THE KOOPA TROOP!!" Ludwig cried, embers making their way out of the koopa's mouth, as each and every word made its way to the air. "LOOK AT ME NOW, DEAR BROTHER! YOU SEE A KING! A KING WALKS AMONG THE PEASANTS, AND SHOWS HIS JEWELS TO THE RICH!!"

"A king that has lost his mind, more likely!!" Roy called back, noticing the sudden changes within his brother coming a little too fast for him to take all at once. Ludwig's eyes turned bloodshot in a matter of seconds, his face appeared older than even that Kamek. His green shell**(3)** looked about ready to crack open, with a few scratches visible in it. Ludwig was going from bad to mad, and Roy was witnessing that transformation right in front of his eyes. He was losing his brother, but at the same time, Roy couldn't offer to lose this fight.

"LOOK AT ME, ROY!" Ludwig cried in a singsong voice, swinging his hammer around like crazy. "LOOK AT ME, ROY!! LOOK HOW I…GET RID…OF YOUUU!!" In a sudden movement, something that Roy wasn't really expecting, Ludwig jumped in the air, and then, swung his hammer, hitting Roy straight in the stomach. The pink shelled koopa let out an agonizing cry of pain**(4)**, before being thrown by the force of the blow, crashing against a nearby stone, and then, falling face down on the floor. Roy coughed a bit, managing to glare at his brother, who playfully spun his hammer with one hand.

"…bastard…" Roy managed to choke out, as he tried to stand up, only to receive a good hit on his shell, sending him back to the ground. Ludwig shook his finger at him, as one would do to a naughty child.

"Tsk…tsk, little brother…lie down for a bit…please…before I…CRUSH YOU!!" Roy gave out a loud cry of pain, as the hammer crashed against his shell, one…two…three times. "WHY IS IT ALWAYS ABOUT THAT JUNIOR BOY!?" the oldest of the Koopalings asked as the hammer moved for the fourth blow, and the fifth. "OUR FATHER LOVES US!? HAHAHAHA! SUCH A WONDERFUL FAIRYTALE…I WISH TO HEAR THE END…WHO DIES, EH? WHO IS THE SHEEP THAT IS LED TO THE SLAUGHTER!?" **(5) **

"…screw you!" Roy roared, managing to roll out of the way, before the sixth hammer strike could hit him. The pink shelled koopa got up, noticing a few pink pieces of his shell falling to the ground, some accompanied with a bit of blood in them. Ludwig had a look of horror, as his brother released the trail of flames towards him, but the older koopa moved out of the way, and tried to hit Roy with his hammer, but this time, the pink shelled koopa was prepared and dodged the blow.

"STAY STILL, SCUM!"

"Make…me!!" Roy cried, jumping towards Ludwig, something that took the other koopa completely by surprise. Both koopas fell to the ground, as they fought for control of the hammer.

"NO!! NOOOO!!" Ludwig cried madly, as he tried to force Roy's claws off his hammer, but the pink shelled koopa was strong, even using his mouth to drag the hammer away from the other koopa's hands. The two of them fought over the hammer, with Ludwig scratching his brother's face with one claw, as the other held the hammer. Roy didn't budge at first, but soon, both his claws left the hammer, and only his mouth was left to keep the hammer out of Ludwig's grasp. "Let go! LET GO! I DEMAND IT!!" Ludwig roared, spitting some fire on his younger brother's face, the latter which only closed his eyes, but knew that the burns couldn't be avoided. The evil koopa overlord scratched and kicked the other koopa, until the Roy gave up, and let go of the hammer, rolling away from Ludwig before the latter could hit him with the hammer.

"…you think…you think ya can win?" Roy asked him, weakly, as the hammer hit the floor, leaving its mark. "…ya…lost the game…bro…game over…" Ludwig only grinned madly, and then, laughed.

"GAME OVER!? Please! You have not seen anything yet!!" From out of nowhere, Ludwig grabbed a strange black object, and then, showed it to Roy, whose eyes widen in shock. "This…my masterpiece…mine only!! This…my Star of Victory…the star of your doom…this…this…!!" the koopa overlord trailed off, before he looked at the shadow star he held in his hand, and then at Roy. With a wide grin, Ludwig plunged the star within him.

"NO!" Roy cried, gaining a little strength from the shock he had suffered moments earlier.

"Too late now, Roy!!" Ludwig cried, as the change was upon him. "IT IS YOUR….GAME OVER!!" Soon, Ludwig grew larger in size, two horns grew from his blue haired head. His green shell began to get many cracks, as spikes came out of it. The koopa overlord's face turned ugly, as fangs began to appear from every corner of his mouth, his eyes turning cat like, as the skin appeared to be breaking away. Ludwig's tail, too, had grown even larger, holding upon its end a strange rock like structure with small little spikes all over it. On his hand, looking more like a cane than a giant, was the hammer being swung by the newly transformed Ludwig. **"YOU LOSE…LITTLE BRO!!" **called the beast before Roy, as he raised his hammer, and let it fall, straight towards Roy.

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**Somethings to point out!**

**1-Okay, here is another reference to the fall of Troy...okay, this one isn't all that great, but the guy's losing his mind already...**

**2-Ludwig, in a simple way, is spitting...little embers from his mouth instead of saliva...well, there are times when people spit when they are really, really angry, without knowing...so, that's what I went with...**

**3-This...I dont remember ever mentioning in my story...if I did put it, the color of Ludwig's shell wrong, I mean, please be kind as to direct me to the chapter and tell me if the guy's shell color is wrong...I would really appreciate it.**

**4-Okay, little hint...at least five characters heard him screaming that last chapter... ;)**

**5-Okay, you may notice here..in fact, all of this damn chapter is shown with caps…yep, you are unto something here people, Ludwig has lost…he was breaking two chapters ago, and now, he finally let the last straw fly…I hope it didnt appear to weird or dumb in a way...but, who knows?**

**Alright, then...sorry for the shortness of this chapter, but I was running out of fuel as I wrote this...yeah, I'm falling asleep...but, I guess it was worth my time to finish it where I did...besides, I did expect this chapter to end in a cliffhanger anyway...well, now to go to sleep, and please...leave a review...(snores on top of keyboard)  
**

**Roy: Lazy ass...**


	26. Chapter 26

Fyras14: Hello, everyone that bothers to click on this story! Chapter 26 is here...and well, to be honest, I kinda dont like how this chapter went about...I might need to redo it later on...but, since I was already down wiht it, I wanted to post it right away...since I wanted to end the cliffhanger that took place last chapter...

Alright then, I added another scene with the princesses, as well, as Daisy kicking someone's butt, that I thought of not adding, but I gave in...

This will be one of my last updates for this story, as in three to two more weeks, I'm starting school. Next chapter will start the battle with Ludwig, and then, a few more chapters more to end this story...so until then, please be patient, and hope you all enjoy this chapter...despite the fact that I didnt like how it ended.

Please read and review, or criticize, whichever comes first. Flames are not accepted, frowned upon, and possibly deleted.

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I accept chaos. I am not sure whether it accepts me. I know some people are terrified of the bomb. But then some people are terrified to be seen carrying a modern screen magazine. Experience teaches us that silence terrifies people the most._

**-Bob Dylan**

**Chapter 26: Fear and Regret**

Fear.

Roy had never known fear up until a few days ago. Fear in large quantities had never been one of his strong points. He was more used to seeing the expression of fear being exhibited upon his enemies' faces, not the other way around. It was just so…frightening to know that he was afraid. Afraid of his own brother, afraid of dying, afraid of many things he had yet to know.

_This…this is it, then…_Roy thought, shaking from the inside, as the hammer seemed to stop with time, moving slowly so its effect could have a major impact on him. Instant death. It was terrifying…really, after all, dying at the hands of your own brother, was a terrifying experience. _…I don't…I don't wanna die…_he thought, closing his eyes as fast as he could, believing that if he didn't see the hammer coming down on him, it would just disappear. But, it didn't, nor did Ludwig's monstrous laugh.

Roy would die, that was the sad reality of the situation, and the pink shelled koopa feared it more than anything. He would die a slow and painful death at the hands of his brother. Yes…life was slowly crawling away from him, despite the hammer not yet striking him down, or was it that the pain had already passed? Had he been crushed? Had time stopped? Was he…dead?

"**YOU!?"**

"LUDWIG!!" It took the sudden exchange of voices to make Roy opened his eyes again, and was shocked when he realized that he wasn't dead yet. He managed to see the two Mario Bros., standing on either side of him, both holding the hammer up, making sure that it didn't finish Roy up. Mario was the first one to react.

"Quick, Roy!!" he cried. "Move!!" Roy, at first, hesitated, that sudden fear still present. It took seconds later to realize that he wasn't dead yet, and so, the koopa moved away from the hammer's reach, the brothers soon followed after, quickly slipping the hammer out of their grasps, and moving away when it hit the floor.

"**MARIO!! LUIGI!! HOW DARE YOU!?" **cried the monstrous Ludwig, who growled in frustration at his failed attempt to kill his brother. **"You, all of you," **the cruel koopa went on, spitting a few flames from his mouth in anger. **"shall die here!! ALL OF YOU!! I WILL BECOME THE SOLE RULER OF THIS WORLD!!" **Luigi and Mario prepared to fight, as Roy found the strength to get up.

No use moping around a few tears and fears. No one had the time for it.

"Bring it on, then!!" Roy cried, already forming a fireball in his mouth.

"**BWAHAHAHA!! YOU IMBECILES, DO YOU THINK YOU STAND A CHANCE!? DIE ALREADY!!" **The giant koopa monster then, swung his hammer about, ready to hit the trio that stood on his way.

**

* * *

**

_I can't believe I was beaten by those…those…ugh!! _Wendy O. thought, as she marched quickly through the corridors of the tower, her face red with anger.

If there was one thing Wendy O. hated more than not getting her manicure was losing. Those darn Mario Bros, that pink shelled idiot of a brother, and that princess had made her look ridiculous. She had been careless, in a way, and had let those four get away. _But, when they find Ludwig…_she thought, grinning maliciously, as she remembered just how strong her older brother had become. _…they will really get it!! _"Hohohoho!! Yeah, they will die, and then, I will take care of that princess!!" Wendy O. thought darkly, remembering she still had a feud to pick with Peach. She clenched both small fists together, and then, stopped with her marching.

There, lying unconscious on the floor, was the King of Koopas, Bowser. He was lying still, only breathing slowly, with a few bruises visible upon his huge body. One of his horns had been sliced off, along with a few spikes out of his shell. Wendy O. growled at her father, as she remembered how she had been reduced to guard duty by him, how her needs had been ignored for the sake of Peach! She went over to Bowser, and gave him a swift kick in the face, causing the large koopa to groan. "Take that, you ugly maggot!! I should kill you myself for ignore me!! Pretty old me! ME!! You deserve what you got!!" she cried, kicking him harder this time. While her kicks had little effect on the large koopa, Bowser's weakened state had made up for that. Wendy O. continued to kick her father, until two voices caught her attention, making her stop hitting Bowser to look at the nearby staircase.

"I hope they are alright…"

"Don't worry, Peach, I'm sure the guys will be fine…besides, they have taken on stronger monsters than Ludwig…they will be fine!"

_Those voices…!! _Wendy O. thought, eyes widening, her mouth showing teeth.

"I still worry, though…what if they break a leg?"

"I thought that was good luck,"

"…Daisy."

"Okay, okay…I get it." Wendy O. stayed where she was, grinning maliciously as the two voices came closer and closer. She couldn't believe her luck! The two most hated enemies on her list were coming straight into her hands, and she wouldn't even need Ludwig's help to get rid of their protectors first. She'll have their heads first! Wendy O. continued to watch, and finally spotted her prey.

Daisy, who was supporting Peach, laid her friend on the steps, as the Mushroom Princess took a deep breath, her injuries not yet healed. The other princess, on the other hand, watched as her friend took a few deep breaths, having not yet recovered from that beaten she had received earlier. "You okay?" she asked Peach after a few or so, deep breaths.

"Yes, I'm fi--"

"Good to know you are soooo well, Peachy!" came Wendy O., causing both girls nearby to gasp in surprise.

"Wendy!" Peach cried, putting a hand over her mouth.

"The crazy turtle!!" Daisy cried, glaring at the pink shelled koopa, who only stood there, grinning as she fixed her bow on top of her head.

"I so missed your company, Peach…are you and your friend leaving so...soon?" Wendy O. asked her, fixing upon them the sharpest grin they had ever seen. The flower princess stood between the koopa and Peach, glaring with all her might at the Koopaling before her. Wendy O. just snickered. "You think you can stop me, princess? Hohohoho!! Where did you get that bright idea!?" The koopa didn't wait for a response as she went towards the two, both claws up. Daisy stood her ground as Wendy O. came at her, fists up, ready to teach this koopa girl a lesson in pain.

The flower princess was able to quickly push the koopa away from Peach, hitting her in the face. Wendy O. screeched, and touched her face, stumbling a few steps back. "HOW DARE YOU!! MY BEAUTIFUL FACE!! MY FACE!!" Daisy only grinned.

"It looks good on you," she mocked. Wendy O. just glared back at her, before she jumped at the princess, causing both to fall down. Peach just stared at the scene that was forming before her, baffled. There was Daisy and Wendy O. , both engaged in a cat fight with each other. The flower princess punched and bit the koopa, while the latter pulled her hair and scratched her on the face, but still Daisy managed to hold her own despite the blood and bruises she was getting. Finally, having enough of the koopa on top of her, Daisy pushed her away, hitting the Koopaling straight on the head. Wendy O. seemed a bit dazed by the hit, and was about to recover, only to receive a good punch on the stomach. The koopa groaned in pain, and rolled to her side, clutching her stomach.

"Ooowww…" she growled, glaring at the flower princess, who didn't appeared at all hurt despite her messy hair and the scratches all over her face.

"Better stay down," Daisy warned her, returning the koopa's glare. "I'm not exactly going to go easy on you…you have nothing to back you up now."

"How…how dare you!!" Wendy O. cried, getting up to face the princess. She lunged at her, rage filling her senses. Daisy stood her ground, and moved out of the way, then, with a swift movement, managed to sent a well placed uppercut, hitting the koopa right in the jaw. Wendy O. barely managed a squeak, and she was down for the count, muttering,

"This is so not fair…" Once the koopa was knocked out, Daisy finally sighed, rubbing the fist she used to hit Wendy O., looking back at Peach, who was rather shocked by the action that took place.

"What?" the flower princess asked, grinning. "I was just looking for a workout…"

"…you…are impossible…"


	27. Chapter 27

Fyras14: Hello, people! It sure has been a while since I last updated this story...sorry about that...school, life, and laziness got in the way of this rather small update...but, here it is. Finally.

Hope you all enjoy it.

Please read and review, or criticize, whichever comes first. Flames are not accepted, frowned upon, and possibly deleted.

_

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People often say that this or that person has not yet found himself. But the self is not something one finds, it is something one creates. _

**-Thomas Szasz**_, "Personal Conduct," __The Second Sin__, 1973_

**Chapter 27: Thunder Clap **

Luigi took a deep breath, as he, Mario and Roy faced off against the koopa overlord, who swung the hammer madly with one hand, while he tried to slash the trio with the other. The two plumbers and pink shelled koopa moved out of the way before Ludwig had a chance to hit them with either hammer or claw. All three allies huddled close, with Mario taking the lead as both his younger brother and Roy covered both his sides. "This is bad…" Mario muttered, as the group evaded another hammer swing of Ludwig's. "This guy is much more faster and stronger than before…"

"Yeah…and even before, he was already trouble," Roy spat, massaging his bruised face, as he stared up at once used to be his older brother Ludwig.

"**WHAT'S THE MATTER BOYS!?" **Ludwig roared, sending another swing of the hammer towards the trio, who easily evaded the blow, only to fall by the blow of the giant koopa overlord's tail. **"GETTING TIRED SO SOON?" **All three only groaned, as they forced themselves up to evade the blow of the hammer, and later another tail slash their way.

"This bastard's tough!!"

"And smarter than Bowser was, too!" Luigi added, sounding a bit tad confused. "But, how!?" Mario and Roy didn't say anything, as they once again evaded the blow that was coming their way, Luigi barely escaping with his cheek lightly bruised after slamming against the floor to get away from the giant koopa's raging hammer. _Bowser, when he was transformed by that…that star, he lost control…completely…hardly using a strategy that would defeat us…his strength made up for his intelligence…but, sti—_Another swing from Ludwig's hammer crushing down nearby, broke the green plumber's musing, and forced him to regroup with the other two, who already had more bruises than they needed. _Why hasn't Ludwig lost control, yet? _Luigi asked himself, glancing at the roaring koopa before them, who stood, idly amused by their injuries and desperation to defeat him.

"**AH, GETTING TIRED, BOYS?" **Ludwig teased, raising his hammer so it could rest close to his demonic head, meeting his rocky shell. His only answer was a scream from Roy calling him 'Bastard!', with the two Mario Bros. glaring at the beast that had resisted his argue to kill them, both of them wondering what the giant koopa overlord was planning. Before Roy could trade anymore insults, and Ludwig could respond, Luigi cried out,

"How!?" was all he said, catching the attention of both his brother and the pink shelled koopa, who ended his cursing altogether. Everyone on the tower were silent, before, Ludwig roared in laughter, amused by the sudden question.

"**HOW!? HOW!? HOW!?" **the koopa overlord mocked, repeating Luigi's frantic question over and over again as if it were a simple rhyme. **"HOW, YOU ASK, MR. L!?" **Ludwig asked, mentioning Luigi's evil persona, causing said plumber to suddenly clench his fist as sudden anger raged over him.

Instead of answering right away, Ludwig took his hammer from its resting place, forcing the brothers and Roy to go on the defensive again. The blow never came, however, as the giant koopa only examined his hammer once more. **"THIS IS THE MAGNIFICENT FRUIT OF MY INTELLECT!" **Ludwig went on, mad eyes still upon the hammer he held. **"THIS HAMMER IS NOT JUST A MERE WEAPON OF DESTRUCTION…NO…IT WAS CREATED USING THE STAR POWER…THE SAME STAR POWER YOU SO PROTECTED, NOW CRIES AGAINST YOU!! WITH THIS…MY POWER IS INFINITE! AS LONG AS I HOLD THIS HAMMER WITHIN MY GRASP, MY MIND IS INTACT, BUT YOU…" **He growled back at the brothers and the pink shelled koopa, before he cried out, swinging the hammer faster than anyone could see. **"ARE DEAD!!" **

Luigi could only manage a cry of surprise, before the hammer hit him, with Mario crying out his name as the green plumber slammed hard on the ground. What he last saw as he lost consciousness was a yellow light covering Roy, before the koopa turned grey, and didn't move anymore.

+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+

_**He was back in that world again. Walking among the darkness of his mind, as the green plumber tried in vain to escape and awaken from this nightmare. **_

_**Luigi tried pinching, slapping his cheeks, and even pulling his brown hair, but no matter what he did, he was still stuck in the darkness, where he Mr. L once roamed. **_

"_**I have to get out of here…" Luigi muttered, blinking in surprise as his voice seemed to carry itself all throughout the darkness, resonating against it, but bringing back a new voice. **_

"_**Hmph…Luigi…so…you came back…" Luigi froze, watching as the figure began to appear in the darkness, standing not too far away from the green plumber, its face hidden from view. **_

"_**You!?" the plumber cried, pointing a finger at the Green Thunder, who didn't bother to stare back at him. **_

"…_**yes…me…Missed me?" Luigi only responded by lunging towards his evil persona, only to stop in shock, as his fist went right through Mr. L, the latter not even making a move. "…still angry, huh? But…it doesn't matter…" came Mr. L's quiet response, who began to turn his head to face Luigi's own. The two of them stared at each other's eyes, the green plumber removing his fist from within the other man's stomach, and just standing there, staring. "…I guess…you were right…" That caught Luigi by surprise, and was silent for a while, before muttering,**_

"_**Wh-what are you talk-talking about?" **_

"_**The…shadow…" Mr. L explained, stopping his staring contest with Luigi, as he turned to stare the infinite darkness. "something that can't simply exist…acts like a shadow…shadow and true light cannot exist in the same world…we…we create each other…we move in our own direction…but, sometimes, we forget…us both…we forgot what true love meant…we forgot we used to care…" (1)**_

"…" _**Luigi only stood silent, not bothering to interrupt the Green Thunder as he went on. **_

"_**When…when a shadow strives to be what it can never be…what does it feel?" he asked, receiving no answer from Luigi whatsoever. Mr. L turned towards the quiet man before him, before continuing, "It feels nothing if the shadow doesn't exist…and a shadow cannot exist without light…I forgot about that light…" **_

"_**We…we…both did…" Luigi felt himself saying, a bit surprised of what he had just said. **_

"_**And you found it…you found it, and destroyed the shadows…but, you cannot truly destroy the shadows…it will live with you all the way…I will live with you…you and I are the same…" **_

"_**I know…" Silence overcame the two of them, before Mr. L spoke again.**_

"…_**I'm fading, Luigi," he said. "This…this shadows are being washed away in light…that's good, isn't it?" Tears soon began to fall from under the face mask the Green Thunder wore, causing Luigi to look at the ground, before asking,**_

"…_**you changed…how is that even possible?" He heard Mr. L chuckle, before hearing his answer. **_

"…_**a shadow can change…according to the movement of light…" Luigi looked back at Mr. L, and was amazed to see him fading away, his body breaking away and becoming light, slowly leaving towards the unknown darkness. "And…when light overwhelms the shadow…it is light that speaks back…sometimes the shadow has to learn…that it was beaten by the light…" His body had almost disappeared before he chuckled, "…and I am…a fair loser…at times…" With those last words, Mr. L was gone, thunder clapping in the distance. Before Luigi could say or do anything, a loud cry shook the darkness, "WAKE UP!!' And then, everything turned to light. **_

_**

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**_

Somethings to point out!

**1-okay here it may appear that Mr. L is all OOC and stuff, but, think of this as Mr. L finally beginning to understand what he and Luigi are, now…both minds becoming one once more...if you know what i mean... **


	28. Chapter 28

Fyras14: Fyras here! Missed me? Well, sorry for the delay, school's to blame...I have been having hell for breakfast each day...one day i have to be at school at 9 AM the next at 7:30 and then 8 really ticks me off...its so damn early in the morning, and I thought I would escape those days...sigh...anyway I hope you don't hate me for such late delay...sorry, I ran into some writer's block lately, and well school and laziness(which is an uncurable disease :) didnt help that much...so sorry...please forgive me!! Will you?

Anyway, once this story is finished I plan to post a sequel(I'm still debating whether it would be a time traveling fic or not), I still need to work on the details, though, but the sequel would be a main sequel we shall see, if I do manage to finish this story by the end of this year...

Please read and reveiw or criticize, whichever comes first. Flames are not accepted, frowned upon, and possibly deleted.

_

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Confront the dark parts of yourself, and work to banish them with illumination and forgiveness. Your willingness to wrestle with your demons will cause your angels to sing. Use the pain as fuel, as a reminder of your strength.  
_

**-August Wilson**

**Chapter 28: In the Name of the Sun**

Luigi's eyes opened; sweat covered his face, while pain circled among his body. At first, he appeared confused at his surroundings…where was he? How did he…

"Ack!" It was the sudden cry of pain that finally got the green plumber's attention away from his confusion, and upon seeing his brother, being crushed under the giant foot of the large koopa monster, that answered his questions. Luigi, in a surge of courage and anger, tried to stand, but his legs were unresponsive. _Damn…I'm still too weak from that hit…_the plumber thought, flinching as his brother recoiled in pain as the foot kept on crushing him.

"**BOHOO…POOR LITTLE MARIO, CRUSHED UNDER MY FEET!" **Ludwig mocked, stepping even harder on the red plumber's back, causing Mario to yelp in pain, weaker than he had before. **"DOES IT HURT? WELL…" **The giant koopa forced his foot deeper into the plumber, causing another cry, this one louder yet weaker than before to emit from the red hero's lips. **"DOES IT!? HA! HOW DOES IT FEEL, MARIO!? CRUSHED UNDER A SUPREME POWER, YOU HAVE NO CHANCE TO WIN UP AGAINST! CRUSHED TO DEATH, YOUR INEVITABLE DOOM! ONE THAT BOWSER NEVER COULD ACCOMPLISH, BUT I, A MERE MINION…NO, A KING! HAVE FINALLY DEFEATED YOU, AND GAINED THE STRENGTH OF A GOD!!" **Another cry, a whimper, made Ludwig stop his crushing to look at the statue before him; Roy.

_What was that? _the green plumber thought, one side of him relieved that the attack on his brother had stopped, if only for a moment, while the other, curious as to where that voice had come from…wait, could it be…_That statue!_

"**OH? ARE YOU SADDEN MY DEAR BROTHER?" **came the mocking voice of the giant koopa, who removed his large foot from Mario's back. The red plumber only could groan in pain, and lay still, unable to move anymore, the only indication that he was alive was his shaking form. **"WHY ARE YOU SO SAD!?" **Ludwig took a step forward, as Mario weakly raised a hand, in a vain effort to protect the statue of Roy.

"Leave….Roy…alone…." The koopa only glanced at Mario, before he let out a sickening laugh.

"**BWAHAHAHAHA!! LEAVE ROY ALONE!? HOW PATHETIC IS THAT!" **Ludwig leaned over, his face on close to Mario's own. **"FOOL…YOU WHO HOLDS NO POWER OVER NOTHING…DARES TO ORDER ME…TO LEAVE MY DISGUSTING, ILL-BEHAVED LITTLE BROTHER ALONE?" **The koopa's face was closer now, some saliva spitting among the small man's head, who lay uncovered, his cap forgotten during the battle with the koopa overlord. **(1) "YOU HAVE NO POWER…NO POWER…TO TELL ME…WHAT TO DO!!" **In a flash, Ludwig snapped back to his full height, hammer raised above his head, eyes glaring at the red plumber and Roy's stoned form. **"NO ONE TELLS ME WHAT TO DO!! NOT ANYMORE, NOT EVER!!" **

"NO!!" Ludwig stopped short from his attack, and glance back at Luigi, who finally stood tall, shaking a bit as he tried to adjust his balance. Both koopa and green man stared at each other for the longest time, before Ludwig broke out laughing.

"**YOU AGAIN, TRAITOR!? WHAT IS IT NOW? HAHAHAHA!! DO YOU BELIEVE YOU COULD STOP ME, AS YOU DID SO LONG AGO!?" **The koopa turned to face the plumber, whose expression of hate had not changed one bit, as Ludwig had uttered those words. **"YOU CANNOT STOP ME, MR. L!! ME, I AM INVINCIBLE!! POWERFUL! INFINITE!! A GOD!!" **He began to walks slowly towards Luigi, hammer held in both hands, his grin getting deadlier. **"FOOL, FOOL, FOOL, MR. L…WHAT A FOOL…" **

"Luigi!" Mario managed to cry out, but he was left in numb shock when Luigi didn't even move. The green plumber stayed planted to the spot, his eyes never leaving the giant form of Ludwig, who still crept closer and closer towards him.

"**ARE YOU DARING FOR A CHALLENGE, MR. L?" **Ludwig mocked, stopping just in front the green plumber, eyes gleaming with malice. **"AH…WHAT IS THE MATTER, MR. L? AFRAID? WEAK?" **Luigi didn't answer, causing Ludwig's grin to turn into a scowl. **"YOU DARE TO BELIEVE YOU STAND A CHANCE!?" **

"Luigi, no!! Stop!!"

"**YOU DARE BELIEVE YOU CAN MATCH A GOD!?" **

"Luigi…please…get away from him!!"

"**YOU, A MERE MORTAL, DARES TO CHALLENGE ME!?" **

"Luigi…please!! RUN!!"

"**ANSWER ME!!" **

"LUIGI!!"

"**FINE!!...I SHALL SAVOR SEEING YOU DIE AS ONE WOULD SAVOR WINE!!" **Receiving no answer from the silent and glaring plumber, Ludwig, with a loud roar, raised his hammer up, and then, he prepared to—

_**...crack….crack… **_

Ludwig suddenly stopped his raging attack, hammer still up on the air, as the thunder's roar boomed into the koopa's ears. **"…WHAT?" ** Raising his head up, the koopa overlord's eyes met the fierce face of a large black cloud, flashes of green light emanating from within it. It took seconds for Ludwig to realize what was happening, but before he could muster what was happening, Luigi had his hand up, his index finger pointing towards the cloud, before crying out,

"TAKE THIS!!" Suddenly, the thunder cloud cried out again, before sending a fierce ray of green thunder towards the koopa and his weapon, with no chance to escape.

"**ARGGGHHHHHH!!" **Green thunder circled Ludwig's body and hammer, hitting the giant koopa everywhere, as Luigi looked on, his eyes on the electrified form of the koopa, his finger still pointing at the cloud, his breathing hard.

…_I have to hold on…_Luigi thought, closing his eyes as pain began to circle his body. _Just…a little…more…_**(2) **The green plumber suddenly fell to one knee, his eyes closed hard, hand beginning to fall down. _No, no!! Hold on, Luigi!!_ he mentally cried, managing to open an eye, to stare at the roaring koopa before him.

"**ARGGGHHHH!! HOW…DARE…ARGGHH!!...YOU!!! AAAAHHHHHH!!!" **

…_I need to destroy…that hammer…if that hammer brings him power…without…without it…he will be nothing!!_ Luigi continued his attack, closing his eyes, holding the pain in. _…the hammer…it must be destroyed… _

"Luigi!! Look out!!" _Huh? _

"AIIIEEEHHH!!" Luigi suddenly flew in the air, and slammed hard against the ground, before him, Ludwig had one of his claws raised, his earlier attack apparent to anyone that would dare look.

"**HOW DARE YOU ASSAULT ME!?" **Ludwig cried, spitting flames as he did. **"YOU CANNOT DEFEAT A GOD!! YOU CANNOT DEFEAT ME!!" **Hammer up once more, the koopa overlord didn't hesitate to attack, and his large weapon went to its target…but, it never made it, for before it could even touch a hair in Luigi's head, the hammerhead cracked opened, and the hammer shattered in two.

* * *

**1-****I never did consider much about the Mario Bros. caps, actually, I almost forgot about them!…since whenever they fight their caps stick to their faces no matter where they are, underwater, space, getting their butt burned to a crisp inside Bowser's castle, etc, I actually never really thought much about it…**

**2-For those that are wondering why Luigi is getting weak for using that attack, well, since this attack is the strongest on Luigi's arsenal, I assumed that because Luigi was already weakened by his fight against Ludwig, he would need to use everything in his power for that attack…so…I think you get the idea…**

**I might have the next update later this month, or by the beginning of December, as my vacation's after the second week of that month...almost there!!  
**


	29. Chapter 29

Fyras14: Fyras here! Man, new year already!? Damn! Why is this story not yet finished!? Argh!! Well, I can't say I'm not angry...I did wanna finish this story before the new year, but, ugh, here I am, updating when I'm suppose to be done with this story by now...well...it did turn up longer than what was originally expected(about 25 chapters only), but phew...it went past the 25 mark, and close already to thirty...it kinda feels like I'm counting birthdays here...

Anyway, nothing much for this chapter, but it concludes what happened in the last one, and also, Ludwig's...something...something...well, you have to read it to believe it, because if I told you now, it would just ruin it...well, this chapter was expected to be super...duper, super, long, but, alas, I decided to shorten it a bit, expect an Epilogue chapter, and well, something bad will happen there, too...as I probably would be posting this story's sequel sometime in August or later on, I still need to work on the storyline a bit, but that is until I decide if it would either be time travel or not...hmm...too hard.

Please read and reveiw or criticize, whichever comes first. Flames are not accepted, frowned upon, and possibly deleted.

_

* * *

Not to forgive is to be imprisoned by the past, by old grievances that do not permit life to proceed with new business. Not to forgive is to yield oneself to another's control... to be locked into a sequence of act and response, of outrage and revenge, tit for tat, escalating always. The present is endlessly overwhelmed and devoured by the past. Forgiveness frees the forgiver. It extracts the forgiver from someone else's nightmare._

**- Lance Morrow**

**Chapter 29: A Last Performance**

It was impossible; an illusion, a trick. No….no…NO!! This couldn't be happening…his power, his godhood, gone? It just couldn't be…could it? But, it was true. So true…and Ludwig could hardly believe it. His eyes just stayed glued on the fallen hammer, the hammerhead already releasing the many dark stars from within its belly, sending them to the heavens were they exploded into black dust. _This…this can't be!! _The koopa overlord mentally cried, his eyes still on the ruined hammer. _NO!! NOO!!! NO!!!! _Raising his head up, the koopa gave a maddening cry, as he spit flames into the sky, **"NOOOOOO!!! THIS CANNOT BE!! NO! NO! NO!! MY POWER!! MY POWER!!" **The two brothers only watched the mad beast, unable to move due to their weakening bodies, blinking with exhaustion and watching their backs just in case the crazy koopa before them decided to attack them once more. But, instead, Ludwig went on with his madness.

"**IT JUST CANNOT BE!! MY CREATION! MY POWER! MY RULE!! GONE! GONE!! GOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNEEEE!!....YOU!!" **Both brothers suddenly paled when the wild koopa turned his fiery eyes on Luigi, who still struggled to stand, grabbing his stomach in pain, the marks of the koopa's claws still clearly seen. The green plumber looked back at Ludwig's eyes, were he was met with pure murder intent. **"I…I AM GONNA….GONNA….KILLLLLL YOUUUUUUU!!" **Before any of the brothers could move, Ludwig struck Luigi hard in the side, sending him to the other side of the roof, where he crashed against another wall.

"LUIGI!!"

"**YOOOOOOUUUUUU!! I WILL KILL YOUUUUUUUU!!" **Ludwig ran towards the small green plumber, and before the latter had any chance to recover from the last attack, the koopa grabbed the man's small body with his claw, and then, send him crashing to the floor, claw still enveloping his small body.

"Ugh…"

"NO!! LUIGI!!"

"**BWAHAHAHAHA!! YOU GONNA DIE, YOU GONNA DIE!!" **Ludwig cried, repeating the action he had done before, and slamming Luigi hard against the concrete floor. **"YOOUUU!! ARE!! DEAD!!!" **Raising him up once again, Ludwig and Luigi shared a glance; the green plumber covered in dirt and blood, while the mad koopa's eyes were bloodshot and wild, both sharing the same message: death, one to receive it, the other to dispatch it.

_I...lost…I never made it…_Luigi thought, as he felt the claw tightening around his body. _…I lost…and he wins…its always the same…second best…_He closed his eyes, and waited for the blow, his light quickly turning into shadows. _Daisy…Mario…Peach…please…forgive me…I couldn't win…goo-good-bye…_

"**YOU WILL DIE…YOU WILL DIE…" **came the maddening voice of Ludwig, his breathe making it hard for Luigi himself to breath. **"DYING ALONE…WHAT A PITY? IS IT NOT, MR. L?" **

…_will I really die alone? _

"LUIGI!! NOOOOOO!!!"

…_I lost…so…I will just die...? There's no light for my way…_

"**GOOD-BYE!! MR. L!!!!!" **

"NO!!!!"

…_**.crack….crack…crack….BOOM!! Drip…drip…crack….drip…**_

And before his final breath, it began to rain**(1)**…thunder bloomed in the skies above them, uncaring at the scene below them, as the lightning bolts crashed against each other in the clouds, catching the koopa overlord off-guard, before looking back at the defenseless plumber in his grasp.

Yes, he would pay. Oh, yes. He would pay with the only price acceptable; his life. And when that was done with, Ludwig would once more recreate his world, his power, and his life as the King of the Many Worlds, a king whose power was unmatched, unquestioned, undeniable. He would be the ruler of them all…and the only things that stood before his path were a pair of weak humans, and his atrocious little brother, but, today…today…they would pay. **"IT WAS NICE KNOWING YOU…MR. L," **he calmly whispered, before raising his hand higher up in the air, the blow he was about to deliver the final and definite blow. **"YOU SHALL HAVE THE PREVILAGE OF DYING BY MY HAND!!" **And then, he let his giant hand fall, fast. Everything seemed to go slower for Ludwig, but in his mind, everything was perfect. It was great. He was going to win, and savor victory, and then, crown himself the King of the Many Worlds, his supreme rule taking over all…his perfectionism would be spoken up in legends, he would be a legend, a myth, and he would be a god. So, he laughed, spitting lava spit all over the sky, crashing against the dark cloud, who still ignored its neighbors below. Yes…he would win…he would be king…he would be the universe…a god…a god…no one could beat him…no one. But then, a strange chorus of voices shook his laughter, and he had minutes to process what was happening down below, and why Luigi had yet to reach the floor.

"GOTCHA!!"

Holding up, far away from the floor, four koopas glared back at their elder brother, with one of them, finally prying Luigi off of the koopa overlord's large claw. **"YOU!?"**

"Ludwig!" Lemmy cried, giving the larger koopa a hard glare. "ENOUGH!!"

"**YOU DARE STOP ME!?" **asked the koopa overlord, showing his younger brother all his ugly teeth.

"You have come far enough as it is! Look around you!! You already lost!" Ludwig only laughed at his sibling's words, finding it to be a very funny joke.

"**TO LOOK AROUND ME!? HAHAHAHAHA!! BUT…IT IS I, WHO HAVE WON, MY DEAR LEMMY!! I HAVE WON, AND YOU," **he leaned closer so that his brother's could taste his horrid smell. **"ARE NOTHING." **Lemmy and the other Koopalings only stayed silent, before, the second oldest, spoke again, giving Ludwig a wicked grin.

"…But, it is over…already, isn't it, Ludwig?"

"**OVER? HOW DARE YOU--" **But, he had began to feel it…the changes, the strange changes that were taking over the koopa overlord's body, causing him to flinch and twitch suddenly. **(2) **Then, everything seemed to grow smaller and smaller…Ludwig's figure changed, his mind and body twitched with the movement, but, as he did, no one moved, not even his brothers, who were still glaring at the transforming koopa before them, unable to get their eyes off the traitorous one as he changed back to normal. Before long, the great Ludwig's monstrous form stood no more, but plain old Ludwig, who breathed in slowly, unable to take the pain of the transformation. He could feel all eyes on him, as he finally stood up.

"…this…this isn't over!" He cried, getting up. The koopa glared daggers at everyone, but neither one of them made a move. "I will return…!! I…I…I shall not be defeated, not by you, not by anyone!!" He turned to leave, only to be stopped by a larger body standing on his way, glaring at him with furious eyes.

"Hey there, big bro, wanna fly up, butterfly?" Before Ludwig had any chance to defend himself, or even attack, his face met with Roy's fist, sending the koopa down, before he had any chance to attack. "Too busy on your coronation speech, ya forgot about good old me? Ah…you shouldn't have,"**(3) **Ludwig met another punch from the large koopa, before he was lying face down on the floor, spitting a bit of blood and muttering curses.

"…Bastard…you…you shall pay for this!!" He felt someone grab hold of his tail, with Roy leaning close to his face so he could hear.

"You first…" And then, the pink shelled koopa send his brother spinning and spinning, finally letting go of the koopa, as he was sent flying out of the tower, far away from the koopa's home, far into the distance, where he was lost to his other siblings, who finally gave in a sigh of relief.

Luigi and Mario exchanged glances with each other, small smiles forming on their tired faces.

The nightmare was finally over.

* * *

Some things to point out!!

**1-Remember the earlier chapter, well, let's just say that Luigi literally created a cloud and it stayed there until the very end, so that's why this scene, sorry if it doesn't make any sense...**

**2-remember that Ludwig said that the hammer was the source of all of the koopa's power, so naturally, he would run out of it sometime, and well, Lemmy began to notice the changes before the latter could say anything about it, it just took a while for it to lay off...**

**3-I suppose this sentence does the explaining, right? I thought it would be strange if I added, "And suddenly Roy turned back to normal", I just wanted to add a bit of of suspense to the scene...to say, I gotcha, to Ludwig.**

**And...tada! Finally, the end is approaching...sorry to end the chapter so corny and dumb like that, but, hey, it needed the right closure...and well, there it is...the epilogue would be extra long, explaining how things went on after this, and eventually what happened to both Ludwig and Wendy O., and their fates, and the fates of the other characters...**

**Hope you all enjoy this chapter, and leave a review!!  
**


	30. Chapter 30

Fyras: Finally...the last chapter of this story is as good as here...sigh...it sure has been a long ride to the end, hasnt it...and well, I thank everyone with all my heart...but because you are so many and my hand hurts, I would have to thank you with this chapter only...please, forgive me! But, I really did enjoy writing this story as much as you enjoyed reading it...

The ending is the beginning part of the sequel, but all would be explained on the sequel, which is still in the works, with me, still working with the ideas and such...due keep in mind that I might return and give this story a make-over, but until then, see you next time! Of course, after you scroll down and read the last part of the author's note...and then...sniff...we...sniff, we really say bye! Sniff!

Roy: Stop crying and go on with the story, drama queen!

Fyras: So rude!

Please read and review, or criticize, whichever comes first. Flames are not accepted, frowned upon, and possibly deleted.

_

* * *

I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.__  
_

**-****Thomas Jefferson**

**Chapter 30: Noel, Leon, and Avalon**

It took two and two to carry the half-conscious Mario Brothers down the stairs, but the Koopalings didn't complain as they carried the two of them to where the princesses waited. Behind them, Roy managed to drag himself up slowly, receiving concerned looks from his brothers once or twice. "It's been one hectic time, hasn't it?" Lemmy suddenly asked, causing everyone walking down the stairs to look back at him. "I wonder how we'll fix everything that Ludwig screwed up for all of us…it will take time…"

"…Don't mention any fixing now, please," Roy replied, as he rubbed his bruised head. "I don't have the damn time for it…everything hurts!" His four brothers laughed.

"Yeah, yeah, we know you don't like fixing the dishes you throw, Roy," Morton said, causing the two Mario brothers to share a grin with each other as the Koopalings carried them down.

"Let us focus on the fixing now…we gotta first find Ludwig, though," Lemmy said, after a while. "We can't possibly leave him out there after all he has caused…" Roy gave his older brother a pat on the shoulder.

"I wouldn't worry about it…I gave that Ludwig a good throw…he'll probably already made it out of the island and straight into water,"

"Still…I can't help to be concerned…well, at least half of our men are well and dandy…"

"They are?" Mario weakly asked him, glancing down the stairs, which they had yet to finished walking down from.

"Yep. Those guys were so damn confused at first…suddenly, King Boo comes around and starts yelling orders like no tomorrow…he's the one that got us out…"

"He did?" Luigi asked, getting a nod from Lemmy in return.

"Uh-huh…it turns out he was actually conscious of what he was doing, being a ghost and all, and started to tell us in this super rushed voice what Ludwig had done in the past days when we were stones…he ordered us to go after him, and we didn't need to be told twice…then, we meet the princesses down there and they tell us where you guys were at," the Koopaling gave a small sympathetic glance at Luigi. "…a moment too soon, and you would have been Koopa pudding plumber boy," Lemmy explained, meanwhile the green man couldn't help but blink in surprise. King Boo had actually helped them? Well…considering how things were at the time, Luigi wouldn't put it past the King of Boos to actually help them defeat Ludwig…after all, if the Boo could still see what he was doing, that might have caused a bit ego injury there and he wanted payback.

…_I doubt we would be in good terms, ever…_ Luigi thought, sighing, ignoring the conversation that was taking place between the Koopalings and his brother. _At least…everything is going to be…much better now…hopefully…_

Yes. He only hoped that everything would be much better.

* * *

It was Daisy who finally spotted the group of koopas coming down the stairs, all helping the beaten plumbers down the steps. The princess had to contain herself from jumping onto the green plumber's arms in joy, happy to see him well and safe. Peach, too, noticed the heroes coming down the stairs, and gave out a loud cry, "MARIO! LUIGI!!" Behind her, the small form of Bowser Jr. also looked back at his brothers and gave a cry as well.

"Big Bros!!"

"Yo, Junior!" Roy cried, waving a hand at his little brother, while the other Koopalings only nodded in greetings.

"Peach…Daisy…are you okay?" Mario asked, after the plumbers finally reunited with the princesses, with the Koopalings and Junior talking amongst each other on the other side of the stairs, the four of them clearly hearing about Roy repeating Ludwig's fate to the worried Junior.

"We are fine…thank you," came Peach, smiling back at the red plumber, before looking back at the green plumber, who sat on the steps close to Daisy. The flower princess had both hands on top of Luigi's shoulders, as the plumber looked down. "Luigi?"

"I'm sorry…"

"…Luigi?"

"Peach…I'm really, really sorry…" Suddenly, before anyone could stop him, Luigi put both hands over his face, and began to sob silently. Daisy tighten her grip on the plumber's shoulders gently, as if trying to stop him from crying, but unable to find the words. Behind them, the koopas stopped their idly chatter to look at the scene before them. No one said anything for a moment as they heard the calm sobbing of the green plumber, with Mario and Daisy exchanging glances once in a while, as if wondering what would happen now. "…sorry…sorry…"

Before anyone could say anything, Peach calmly went towards the plumber and gave him a hug, a tight hug, despite the bruises both of them had endured. "…don't cry, Luigi…it isn't your fault…it isn't your fault…please don't cry…I'm just happy you are okay…"

"…but…all I did…" Luigi sobbed, as Peach finally released him from the hug.

"That wasn't you," the princess said firmly, smiling sadly. "and Ludwig was the true cause of all this pain and sadness…"

"True that, zorro boy!" Roy cried, standing behind Daisy and Mario, with Junior next to him as his brothers stood behind them both. "Ludwig's the bastard behind this whole damn mess.

"But still…" Peach just shook her head.

"I won't accept an apology, Luigi…because I don't need one, and because you aren't to blame."

"Peach is right, Luigi," Daisy said, giving the plumber a hug of her own from behind. "You haven't done anything…"

"Except saving us," Mario pointed out, giving his younger brother a pat on the head, with a big grin on his face. The sobbing finally stopped, a small smile forming on Luigi's face, as the Koopalings patted the plumber's back, thanking him for helping them get back to normal.

While his brothers thanked the plumbers and the princesses talked with them a bit more, Roy broke away from the group to stare at the fallen form of his father, who had yet to regain consciousness. "Sorry, dad," the pink shelled koopa muttered, sighing. "If I had thought straight when Ludwig had come around with his master plan in the throne room, I would have stopped this…but I got careless and I let this happen…the little champs wouldn't have stood a chance," he glanced back at the group of koopas and humans talking amongst each other, before something caught his eye.

It was lying not too far away from where his father slept, a ribbon. It was a small pink ribbon with white circles, to be more precise, that was all dirty with dirt and some scratches destroying its cute appearance. Roy blinked once or twice, and just stood there, as if recalling, but before he could say anything, Daisy's voice cried out, "Hey! Where did that crazy koopa go?"

* * *

There were no questions asked as the group of humans were escorted by two koopas to where Knut-Nut's ship awaited.

No matter how hard they had searched, neither of the Koopalings were able to find their traitorous sister anywhere. And they sincerely had no time to waste looking for her, as Lemmy had put it. He and a recently released Kamek were trying to keep order in the castle and the kingdom while Bowser recovered. King Boo and his servants flew back to the Forbidden Woods their mansion was housed in, deciding to severe their ties with the koopas for the time being, something that they hadn't found too surprising, after all, the King of Boos often came into disagreements with the Koopa King, and thanks to Ludwig doing what he did, the ties between the two species had died down. Of course, that was the last thing they were worried about, since they had a kingdom to fix.

"You think she's going to try something?" Mario asked Roy, as his brother and the princess walked ahead of the two of them, with Junior chatting animatedly with Peach, who had now, as well as the others, recovered from the injuries thanks to a few healing mushrooms**(1)** Kamek had provided for them.

"Wendy? Nah…she complains when she breaks a nail, and hardly moves it when it requires work, unless dad's the one giving the orders…" Roy commented, adjusting his new pair of pink glasses over his eyes. "She won't move nothing if she knows what's best for her…she wasn't the smartest cookie of the bunch, so that bitch won't try nothin',"

"I see…and what would happen now?"

"We ain't planning to take over the Mushroom Kingdom, if you're wondering," the pink shelled koopa answered, crossing both arms over his chest. Mario only snickered and rolled his eyes.

"I doubt it…but better be safe than sorry," he joked.

"Hahaha…funny, plumber boy," came the sarcastic response.

"Hehe! No need to remind me," the red plumber responded, smiling from ear to ear, as the humans and koopas finally reached the shore, where Knut-Nut lay waiting, but they were rather surprised to see a frantic Goomba there.

"Whatcha, ladies!! Whatcha!!" Knut-Nut cried, moving his moustache from left to right, and looking panicked at the water.

"Something the matter, old geezer?" Roy asked.

"Bass Boss pack in the waters!!" Everyone tensed at hearing that name, and the princesses hurried behind the back of the group, to keep away from the water.

Boss Bass, Mario and Luigi were both familiar with those anything-eating fish, which they had met during their many adventures in the Mushroom Kingdom and in the Koopa's Kingdom as well. Unlike other sea creatures, who had a sort of intelligence or where as equally smart as any other koopa, the Boss Bass were the enemies of all. Human, fish, koopa, and even fireballs alike, despite the fact that the latter made them flee when they touched it, only to come back for more. **(2) **

"Careful where you step, lassies!!" cried Knut-Nut, as the group watched a Boss Bass's fin pass by, before the two princesses made a run towards the boat. The others sighed in relief when Daisy and Peach made it to safety. "Now you be careful, red and green moustache men…Bass Boss already had koopa for dinner, but their pack of friends are still hungry!"

"A koopa for dinner?" Roy asked, paling a little, while Junior just looked up at his brother confused.

"Yep, yep, Pinky! He was flying in the air, and hit the waters! Bang! Like that, and then, suddenly, pack of Bass Boss come and get him…CRUNCH!! BAM!! CRUNCH!!" He tried to mimic the crunching sounds of fish eating, but only managed to give out a small like growl. "Before I know it, koopa down for count, and Bass Boss took him there, under the water!"

"…I see…" Roy said after a while, as he faced the waters with the Boss Bass's fins sticking out of it, trying to make out a small hint of blue hair, or any fangs or spikes, anywhere in the waters, but finding none. Neither of the Mario Bros. spoke, as they looked back at Roy, silently wondering what he was thinking about this turn of events.

Ludwig was gone…for good…and Roy just accepted that fact and said nothing.

* * *

"Hey, hey! It's you!"

"Me?"

"Yeah, you!"

"Calm down, bro, she doesn't even know who we are yet…"

"So? She has to present herself, or else!"

"…Is he threatening me?"

"…Not really…he knows you're super strong, so he wouldn't even try it…"

"…I see…so…you are Uncle Luigi's kids, right?"

"Yeah! We are our mother's kids too, ya know?"

"…I think she got it about us being Dad's kids the first time…you know…"

"You really think so?...So, anyway…what's your name? Uncle Mario didn't really wanna tell us, so he forced us to come and introduce ourselves to you!"

"Daddy did? Well…what a nice way to break the ice…"

"Why are you laughing!?"

"No…it's nothing really…and well…sorry, my name is Avalon."

"Avalon? Hey! It has a nice ring to it! Princess Avalon of Mushroom Kingdom! Sounds okay!"

"Thank you…I think..."

"Now's are turn: Name's Noel!"

"Leon."

"…."

"…"

"Umm…is something wrong?"

"Shh…we are trying to make a dramatic announcement!"

"...Oh..."

"And we both are…THE PRINCES OF SARASALAND!!"

"Plus Dad!"

"Plus dad?"

"Yep, dad's still a prince…mom's the queen, ya know, politics."

As the trio of children kept on talking in the castle gardens, the two fathers looked at each other with a smile.

"So, you're still a prince, eh, Luigi?"

"Yes…you know, politics."

"I can imagine!" And with that, both brothers laughed, watching as their children began a game of hide-and-seek, wondering how bright the future would be.

**FIN**

…**for now…

* * *

**

Somethings to point out!!

**1-Mushrooms in RPGs have healing properties, just in case you guys forgot about it...but, who really would?  
**

**2-There were times, that when, despite the fact that you got rid of one of this fish, they would always come back for more! Damn I hated these guys…**

**_Darn it...a "To be continue" Ending...darn it! But, anyway, as I said before I enjoyed writing this story as much as some of you enjoyed reading it...hope this chapter is alright for everyone, and well, since I just started school again, life just got a little harder, but do not fear, I shall prevail! In five months maximum, the sequel shall be posted, if not...well, I guess I would consider the sequel none existent until I get my act together and school out of the way...but I might surprise you all, eventually._**

**_Thank you for reading this story and a review or two would be very welcome..._**

**_-Fyras14_**

**_P.S.: Until next time!!  
_**


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